You’ve probably heard the old saying “You Snooze, You Lose!” I’m told that the line came from the character known as George Owens on the 80’s sit com, “Mr. Belvedere.”
I think the words spoken by “George Owens” say a lot about where some “homebuyers” are relative to this market. Hopefully that’s not you.
Some people are sitting on the sidelines…taking a wait and see attitude, waiting for the market to “change,” hoping that some of the perceived risk will be reduced by more stable credit and mortgage markets, and wishing that just one more piece of positive news would filter out of the media to convince them to become active and take action.
Well, guess what? It just isn’t going to happen that way. Not if you want to capture the market at the bottom, at least. Let me explain why, and how to avoid “staying sidelined,” so you are in the right position to capture current opportunities.
Imagine for a moment that you are attempting to merge onto the freeway, where traffic is moving at 65 miles per hour - now picture yourself coming to a stop.
Being behind somebody that stops on an on ramp waiting for the “right opportunity” can be scary, yet I imagine it’s happened to all of us at one point or another.
So, when you’re at a standstill, how hard it is to find just the right opening between the rapidly moving cars. You know how hard it is to get your car to go from zero to 65 miles an hour in a very short distance and merge into flowing traffic. It’s not easy.
Now, picture yourself in this same situation – only this time, you continue moving down the on-ramp, and, once you find the right opening to merge, you join effortlessly into the moving traffic.
Simply put – it’s hard to find an opening when you are standing still. You know this – but did you know that this principle is not just a question of physics – it’s a question of money and opportunity? And did you know that it applies to many would be home-buyers?
Movement creates opportunity. It invites new things to happen. Movement means you are ready to take action – that you are responding and adapting to the changing marketplace.
As the market continues to evolve we are past the time to watch, to wonder and to wait. Now is the time to pay attention! Watch what’s happening, and look for your opportunity. Believe me the growing positive statistics, like those at our Market Activity website, www.bayareamarketmetrics.com reveal that there are plenty of buyers ready to jump at the right opportunity. Remember, if you are sitting on the sidelines, all you can do is watch.
But what about those that “just got lucky”, right? Well here’s how people get “lucky”, they (1) they get into motion, (2) they get their financing lined up, (3) they find a great agent who welcomes their business and they start looking for the right home (4) They make an offer that fits the circumstances, (5) and THEN they “get lucky”. In other words, they are people willing to move at the “speed of opportunity”.
Remember, just like you can’t easily merge onto a highway from a dead stop - neither can you find the best home buying opportunity unless you are moving at the “speed of opportunity.”
If you want to move at the “speed of opportunity”, a good place to start is understanding the current level of market activity. Our Bay Area Market Metrics Report can be viewed at www.bayareamarketmetrics.com.
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