Uncertainty and Hesitation - A Formula for future regret

With the Bank of Canada now declaring the recession over in Canada, the Stock Market being at its highest point since January, and the Victoria Real Estate Board sales data from May and June 2009 MLS sales to be respectively 7% and 31% higher than the same period last year, what more do buyers need to feel comfortable making the decision to purchase property here? I deal with many buyers, and while the smart ones have taken my advice and purchased real estate while prices are low, many keep dancing on the sidelines waiting for....well, I'm not really sure anymore. This market isn't going to last forever, believe me, and if you are serious about buying but are holding off for a crash in prices then all you have on the horizon will be disappointment. I can hear it now....."Oh, I wish I had bought in 2009. I always wanted a recreational cabin/waterfront/new home, but now prices are too high and I can't afford it!" Of course, the global financial problems are not suddenly over, and there are all sorts of perfectly rational reasons from experts why you should purchase, or should not purchase, but I look at the overall trends and how it affects markets. The last few months have seen a gradual lightening of the dark mood regarding the economy. Jobs are still an issue of course, and are likely to remain so for a while, but the best thing to get an economy moving again is a feeling that ‘things are getting back to normal’. It’s a rather simplistic view, I admit, but we humans are very affected by moods and trends. If we believe the worst is over, it very often it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy, and I believe that is what is happening right now.

As a realtor, I get great satisfaction in finding the perfect home for a buyer. Also, despite popular opinion, a good realtor will be looking out for his clients and won't necessarily sell them the most expensive property in their price range but rather one that is best suited to their needs. This is what we do, and whilst there are always bad apples in any profession, we really aren't the money-grabbing low-lifes that cartoonists and the popular press would have you believe. In other words, the sale is important but I’m not going to surrender my ethics and integrity just to get that signature on a contract. We deal with the local real estate markets on a full-time basis, and can often spot trends before they become obvious. We then pass this on to our clients.

My decisive buyers have already taken the plunge and, as I have said before, will reap the benefits in increased value over time, usage of their property, and the satisfaction that they didn't let a good opportunity go to waste. Indecision at this critical point will only lead to disappointment, particularly when that perfect property you have been looking for the last few weeks suddenly sells from under you, or when there are no properties left that appeal in the inventory. I’ve had a few buyers that really liked a certain property, had the money to purchase it, but who lost out because they wanted " see what the market was going to do”, or who were going to "crunch the numbers". Whilst they are waiting and crunching, another buyer swooped in, made a good offer and secured the deal. Now the indecisive buyer has to start the process of finding a suitable property all over again, with no guarantee that another one will come on the market, and in doing so loses the opportunity to get a great deal in the tail-end of a down market

Of course, buying real estate is, for most of us, the biggest single purchase of our lives. I am not saying that such a decision has to be rushed, but when the planning has been completed and the finances secured, make the plunge for that property that has caught your eye. You won’t regret the decision when you GET A GREAT DEAL, BUY, AND HOLD.

Sources:

Victoria Real Estate Board:  http://vreb.org/mls_statistics/current_statistics.html 

Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/recession-over-growth-resumes-bank-of-canada/article1228484/

CNN.com – Money: http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/23/markets/markets_newyork/index.htm