Real Estate Psychology
Real Estate in Chantilly and Centereville Area: Buy, Sell, or Wait?
January 18th, 2010 categories: Buyer Strategies, Real Estate Psychology, Seller Strategies
Working with buyers and sellers every day, I get a sense of the “mood on the street” that is not necessarily reflected in national statistics.
Here is a quick impression of what I have been seeing lately in working with Northern Virginia home owners and buyers, as well as those moving here from other areas.
I’d summarize the mood this way: “I am going to get on with my life!
After four plus years of non-stop bad news, people are tired of having their real estate life on hold.
Of course, reality is ever present, and some people have circumstances that simply prevent them from doing what they would like to do. Some things you can not, and should not ignore. No point in making a real estate move that will make your situation worse.
But “distress” is not the only reality that is out there. There are many buyers and sellers on solid financial ground. They have been watching the national drama, and trying to figure out when is the right time to do whatever it is they planned on doing, real estate wise.
So what point do I want to make from this? Let me offer a few ideas to any of our readers who may be thinking through a real estate decision.
First, make rationally-based decisions, not fear-based decisions. To me, this means not being overly optimistic or pessimistic. It means looking honestly at the key factors that are part of your decision.
Second, get really good professional advice. Never work with someone who you feel is trying to exert pressure on you to make their preferred real estate decision. I have made this point from time to time in this blog: choose a really outstanding real estate agent.
Third, if the finances add up for you, do remember that you are living through a time of special opportunity. At some future point, who knows when, the real estate market will be much different than it is today. Add just enough contrarian thinking to see beyond what the “crowd” sees.
And if you do happen to be looking for someone to help you make that next move, we invite you to watch a different kind of testimonial video…in the voice of our clients.
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MANAGING THE STRESS OF MORTGAGE RATE DECISIONS
June 23rd, 2009 categories: Buyer Strategies, Mortgage & Finance, Real Estate Psychology
One of the stress points for home buyers is knowing when to lock-in to their mortgage rate. Read the rest of this entry »
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PERSPECTIVE MATTERS. FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT’S THE MORTGAGE DELINQUENCY RATE?
March 3rd, 2009 categories: Mortgage & Finance, Real Estate Psychology
One of life’s enduring lessons is that perspective matters. By perspective I mean the way in which we look at, analyze, interpret, and come to make sense of the world around us. Read the rest of this entry »
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ONE NOTE SAMBA: WHAT’S MISSING FROM TODAY’S HOME SALES STATISTIC?
February 26th, 2009 categories: Buyer Strategies, Real Estate Psychology, Seller Strategies
Ever heard the song “One Note Samba?”
The melody cleverly used repetition on one single note to create a memorable melodic motif. The song was a hit back in the 60’s. Read the rest of this entry »
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LOWER CONSUMER CONFIDENCE, HIGHER HOMES SALES: THERE IS AN EXPLANATION
February 16th, 2009 categories: Buyer Strategies, Real Estate Psychology, Seller Strategies
I am not sure where consumer confidence is for Chantilly and Northern Virginia home buyers. Given the traditional strength of our local economy, maybe it is much better than the national average for Consumer Confidence which fell this month for the first time in three months.
This is not much of a surprise, given the daily mantra of rough economic news. When something is repeated consistently enough, and believed, it takes on the dynamics of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
In spite of this, could we be seeing the faint glimmer of a housing revival? I know, there are so many current and “in the wings” foreclosures that any “revival” may seem a long way off. So maybe “revival” is way too strong a word.
At the same time, sales of existing homes are on the rise and an increasing number of homes are under contract to sell. To interpret these statistical reports we are well advised to remember the “action-reaction” tendency that we see in nature as well as social systems. The idea is that a sharp reaction eventually results in a counter-reaction. As home prices decline, not everyone will respond by staying out of housing. Some will react, as many are now doing, by seeing the decline as their entry point.
In this way cycles are perpetuated. Cause and effect is a pretty powerful principle. Not every home buyer knows they are supposed to react with fear and avoid the opportunity!
For example, consider the other forces that are part of the current economic turbulence:
- In some markets, home values have declined to early-2000 levels
- Government interventions have brought mortgage rates to near-5 percent
- Congress is pledging more support for housing, and a housing credit is part of the impending stimulus package.
Two points are worth considering as you watch the economic drama play on. First, cycles and the “action-reaction” tendency of human behavior and human systems is ever present. Gloom and doom eventually gives way to boom and zoom. And the second, to make good home buying and selling decisions look to all of the important factors in your own life, and not to the “programmed” mindset, especially the steady stream of “news” which seems like it is edited to ensure that only negative information gets through the screening filter.
One’s confidence is far too precious to be determined by something outside your own good judgment.
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REAL ESTATE AND YOUR EMOTIONS: FREEDOM FROM “MEDIA ATTENTION DISORDER”
December 16th, 2008 categories: Real Estate Psychology
In The Straight Scoop we occasionally write about real estate psychology. Our intent is to hopefully make a modest contribution to the psychology of home buying and home selling for our blog users. A modest contribution in the direction of mental health and wellness. Read the rest of this entry »
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