Real estate enthusiasts have been seeing the same trends for the last three or so years: there’s no inventory, prices are skyrocketing, interest rates have spiked, rents are booming, housing is unaffordable, the pace of home building lags demand, real estate agents are struggling, etc. But out of the maelstrom come two saviors: individuals who brave the cold, brutal darkness of the residential market, eschew the negative chatter and create beauty out of pain. These two groups of intrepid adventurers go by the following names: Buyers are those eternal optimists, those relentless seekers who won’t give up just because they have viewed a dozen homes, made four offers, and still not secured permanent shelter.
Swords drawn metaphorically for battle, they slash the fear of high interest rates, stab at every appropriate listing in their price range, procure more resources, and finally plant their trusty blade in the property that was meant to be as they set down roots and begin the American Dream. Sellers are generally a different breed, compelled to act by life circumstances – an emptying or filling nest, a new opportunity out of the region, or some other exigency. They may have deferred the inevitable for as long as they could hold out, awaiting a dip in interest rates or some other market disruption that would reduce the psychic pain of trading in a 2.
5% mortgage. Prepared finally to cash in their previously unthinkable profits, they get on with life and pocket the differen.