Standing on the Sidelines

As numerous and large price reductions continue to correct listing prices, buyers are standing on the sidelines and waiting to see just how low, the sellers will go.

From the buyer’s perspective this strategy can create anxiety. Here’s the risk. If you find a property you like and decide to play the waiting game you could lose out, especially now. Last week, interest rates decreased to the low 5’s for fixed 30 year products. This combined with price reductions are making many properties affordable for more buyers. This past holiday weekend we saw an increase in real estate shopping activity in Provincetown.

Sellers, exhausted form the long stretch of price reductions and time on the market, are renting their homes to year round renters in order to hold their investment until this slow market cycle ends. This may happen to a property you are sitting on the fence over and may lose it if the seller removes it from the market to rent. We’ve seen this lately on the outer cape. A buyer passes on a property in order to play the waiting game. Suddenly, the property is withdrawn from the market due to the seller renting the home. Opportunity is missed by both the buyer and seller in this instance. 

If you are in the market to buy and have identified your dream home on the outer cape, talk to your realtor about making an offer. Realistic offers are still being presented and sellers, eager to close a chapter of their lives, are negotiating. It might surprise you at what sellers are willing to do in this market to move their property.