The problem begins with the buyers trying to see every home available in a certain market range. While this sounds like a pretty good strategy if you’re buying a home, consider that depending on the area and price range, a search of all homes available could yield hundreds of homes in the initial search with between 5 and 10 new homes appearing for sale every day. At first, buyers feel like kids in the candy store, but soon realize that going through hundreds of homes takes a lot of time and energy. Unfortunately this has caused many buyers to just give up on hunting altogether in frustration. 

Back when we were at the crest of the housing wave and homes were selling rapidly, seeing every home out there made sense – there was less selection and buyers needed to often make quick choices. This made a “larger to smaller” approach to home searching make sense – there was a much smaller pool. In today’s market where there is an extreme housing glut, a “smaller to larger” approach makes more sense. 

Buyers have to shift gears and be more selective in the initial searches. If you spend a week going through all your choices, by the end of that week, some of the best ones on your list will be gone. It’s better to start with a smaller list and add to it if you don’t find what you’re looking for. Also, don’t be afraid to go ahead and make an offer if a home you see fits your picture. I’ve worked with buyers that found the perfect home but wanted to continue to look and see “what else is out there” only to find that 3 days later, another buyer bought their perfect home while they were out looking at dogs. DONT LET THIS BE YOU!

Finally it’s very important that you work closely with your REALTOR and be specific about your search requirements. If you’d only buy a home with a basement, it doesn’t make sense to see homes without one. If you’re thinking of looking for a home to buy this year, I’d love to talk to you about how I can make the search process easier. Just give me a call and I’d be happy to meet with you: 630-346-1041.