The Best Buyer’s Market in Highlands and Cashiers North Carolina

Should We Wait or Buy Now?

A buyer’s market should be just that – a buyer’s market.  It’s not a fence sitting, procrastination, vacillating, wavering, hesitating, pausing market.  It’s a buyer’s market.  By the very name it means buyers should be doing one thing and one thing only – Buying.  So why aren’t we buying?

The incredible irony of this buyer’s market in Highlands and Cashiers is that even though the opportunity to buy is high, buyer urgency is low.  The media becomes the excited messenger of negative news and uninformed advice and buyers buy it all.  Actually, it feels like it’s the one thing they are buying.  Their hesitance to buy is so ironic since just a short time ago in Highlands and Cashiers buyers were incredibly excited about buying- and it was one of the biggest seller’s markets.  Prices were rising and it was one of the most difficult times to buy value and yet people were buying like there was no tomorrow.  Buyers were afraid of losing out by not buying, even though the advantage was all to the seller.

Now a shift has occurred.  Fear is still in the driver’s seat but the tables have turned – the fear of paying too much seems to stop most buyers dead in their tracks and paralyzes them.  When they should have been afraid of paying too much they weren’t and now that they shouldn’t be afraid of paying too much they are.  It’s one of the great illogical moments of any market. 

People who buy in buyer’s markets are the smart ones. They aren’t looking for a killing because they know that’s a matter of luck, not planning.  They ask themselves the same question time and time again-“Has the market dropped enough now to make the right purchase?” More often then not, if you are asking this question, then you’re already in the safe zone and the answer is yes.

Three Buying Strategies to Think About in Highlands and Cashiers, NC

Why Wait?  The Risks of Timing the Market.

Buyers who choose to wait until prices come down more are also gambling that interest rates will hold steady or drop.  What is not always understood is the impact interest rates can have on the real monthly costs of homeownership.  Even a 10% drop in home prices is immediately nullified by a mere 1% point increase rate on a 30-year mortgage loan.

Trade Up- The Opportunity of a Down Market.

If you are a buyer planning on trading up, saving on the larger home purchase will more than offset any loss on the sale of your current home.  If home prices dropped by 10%, here’s what it could look like if you decide to trade up –

OLD HOME PRICE= $400,000

Sell at $360,000 =  $ 40,000 less money for your home

NEW HOME PRICE=$800,000

Buy at $720,000 =  $ 80,000 in savings when you buy

Less Is More- Narrowing the Playing Field

In Highlands and Cashiers, one of the greatest challenges as a buyer is simply there are too many choices.  Use an agent that knows the market.  He/she should know where the values are in the market.  Educate your agent as much as possible with your wants in a home. Perhaps ask them to narrow by area in Highlands and Cashiers, final price point, bed / bath size and age of home.  Then let your agent do their job.  If you look at more than 15 houses, you are likely to become confused and overwhelmed.  

Bottom line – As a buyer in Highlands and Cashiers once the market settles or shows any sign of improvement, opportunities start slipping away.  The very moment sellers no longer have to make concessions, they won’t. 

You need to ask yourself two very important questions to help you decide if the time is right for you to be a buyer. 

Question #1- Have prices dropped?

Question #2- Do you think prices will ever go back up?

If you answered “Yes” to both of those questions, then why aren’t you out there buying?   

If you have any questions or want real advice on buying in our Highlands and Cashiers mountains, call me at 866-526-3558, I’m here to help. 

Contributed by Michelle Muraco, Broker Associate