The Tests for a Changing Housing Market

November 19, 2007

As I return from my vacation, I am reading all the great articles that come to me via the Inman Real Estate News. I thought I would kick off my return to blogging with some excerpts from a Guest Perspective article.

"Here are some examples of how things have changed since the 2005 market:

Then: Sellers hoped for multiple offers on their homes.

Now: Sellers hope for multiple showings per month(i.e., more than one)



Then: Buyers wrote cute heart-wrenching letters about how badly they want the house.

Now: Sellers write desperate, heart wrenching letters to potential buyers hoping they buy the house.



Then: Sellers worried when their house was on the market more than five days.

Now: Sellers are relieved when their home sellers after only five months on the market.



Then: Thirty-year-old homes with green shag carpeting and harvest gold appliances are "retro-cool."

Now: Thirty-year-old homes with green shag carpeting and harvest gold appliances are expired listings.



These comparisons are the writing of Doug Buenz who is a real estate broker associate with Alan Pinel Realtors in Pleasanton, California.



Markets do change and the attitudes of sellers who really want to sell change.

The buyers are fearful, but the desire for home ownership remains a driving

force in the psyche of the American public.