Family Members Say Wait to Buy?

I heard some discussion this week from an agent on our team working with a buyer. I wanted to pass this along as I thought it was a great case of where we are now. He mentioned that the parents of the buyers were saying to wait to buy. Which as a parent or family member, being protective of their kids or extended family from an outsider could make sense. But let’s dive deeper into this advice.

One focus of this advice was that rates were high. Considering that when they purchased, the rates were double digits is an interesting perspective in which they responded, “But the prices for homes were so much lower then.” Ok, yes, but let’s think about this. At that time, how much lower, 8-10-12x lower? If they had not purchased during that time with double-digit interest rates, would they not have gained 810-12x equity in their home? This, in turn creating generational wealth that they are now using to help their kids purchase today and the rate they have refinanced over time.

I would say there is not a buyer that I work with that, when getting into a transaction, feels a little stretched or concerned about purchasing a property. This could be due to various reasons but always reflects whatever is happening in the market. My favorite is that most of those buyers talking to them 2, 3, and 4 years after are so happy they moved forward with the transaction and are loving their home, doing renovations, enjoying their equity and other homeowner benefits, and so happy “they don’t have to buy now.”

With a “frothy” market right now, I wanted to update everyone looking to buy and sell. Over the past 2-3 months, seasonality over the holidays, higher rates, low inventory, and a market seeming to slow down, not many properties had multiple offers; if they did, there