– By Michelle Linton Langmack, Associate Broker
In a shifting real estate market, the expertise and guidance of Linton Real Estate is most valuable to buyers and sellers. Real estate markets are cyclical. What goes up goes down, and we are in a down swing. It’s a slowdown swing, and it’s not moving down as fast as it was going up the last couple of years.
This is great news for buyers! This is your time! There are daily PRICE REDUCTIONS on homes that would have had multiple offers 6 months ago. Homes are having days on the market…days! This is huge, because now buyers can look at a property, sleep on it, and decide if it’s a right fit for them instead of having to put in an offer with an escalation clause, hard earnest money, no inspections, and naming your first born after the seller to get their offer accepted. Those days are GONE, and this is a great time for buyers.
YES, this is great, but interest rates are not so great as they were a few months ago, I know…they’ve practically doubled. Buyers, I am sorry you missed out on historically low rates, but here’s the thing, with the slow down, we can now ask for buyer concessions! Those of you who were not able to compete during the madness of this last seller’s market, now is your time.
A few months ago, you might have felt priced out with offers going $100K + over list price, competing against cash buyers from California. Buying might not have even been an option because the market was pure madness and complex. Sellers would have laughed at a buyer concession and your offer would have been skipped over.
Those days are GONE! Now we can ask for 2% in concessions and have the seller buy down the points of the loan. A buydown is a way for a borrower to obtain a lower interest rate by paying discount points at closing. Discount points, also referred to as mortgage points or prepaid interest points, are a one-time fee paid upfront. In the case of discount points, the interest rate is lower for the loan term.
Buyers, with a buydown as an option for you, no more crying about interest rates! We can negotiate this term for you. We will do that, but it must be the right seller…It can’t be a seller who is trying to cash outat what they think is nowtop of the market, that boat has sailed. It must be a right fit with a seller who needs to sell and understands that the market has swung.
HOOORAY BUYERS!!!!!! IT’S ALL HAPPENING!