Pinetop White Mountain Blog

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Time sure does fly! Valentines Day is already behind us for the year 2011 and we are rapidly approaching Easter.  Before you know it winter will be over and summer will be here.  What does that mean? It means the people wanting to escape the heat of the Desert Sun will be on their way to the White Mountains in droves.  Yes, as soon as it starts to get hot down in the desert the exodus will begin and the White Mountains will once again be a bustling busy place.

You have all heard the reports saying this is a Buyer's Market but many buyer are still sitting back waiting and waiting and waiting.  I keep asking myself what are they waiting for?  Yes, there is a possibility that prices will fall a little bit more in the next year or so, but interest rates are creeping up!  The higher that interest rate the less buying power you will have.  If you aren't planning to buy this year and sell next year so what if the price falls a little bit more.  In five years, hopefully, you will have gained that minuscule loss back and then some.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, THERE IS NOT BELL AT THE BOTTOM! If you keep waiting and waiting for the deal of the century, it is going to have come and gone before you blink an eye.  If you aren't here on the day that property that you have been waiting and waiting for you won't get it anyway.  Those kind of deals are gone fast, many times before you will ever chance to see them anywhere. 

Listing Agents do not have to put a listing in the MLS immediately.  They have a couple of days to try and generate an offer of their own or at least with and agent in their office so it may be sold before you ever see it.  Even if they do, it might be a day or two before it shows up on the major sites like Realtor.com or Trulia.com and it may already be under contract. 

Waiting and waiting is only going to cost you more money or perhaps the loss of the house you have been waiting for.  Don't wait any longer, find an Agent in the market you want to buy in and let them know you are ready to buy.  Go to a lender and get pre-qualified so you know how much house you can buy and then get moving.  I feel so bad for people when they finally decide it's time to buy only to have them find that the house they really wanted is already sold. 

Another word of advice for potential buyers out there.  Do not think that you are going to find the perfect house and put a ridiculously low offer in on it and get it.  Most homeowners who are selling in today's market are already very close to the bare minimum they can afford to sell their property for.  Banks have already done the research and they are not going to drop another 20 or 30% on their prices.  All that will succeed in doing is make the Asset Manager who is handling the sale angry.  Then they won't work with you at all.

I know that in some markets prices have dropped 60 even 70% below where they were at the height of the market in 2006.  That does not hold true in every market.  Remember those ads on TV from the National Association of Realtors that say all market are different?  Well they are and what might hold true in one community will not hold true in another.  That is particularly true in the White Mountain market.  The prices are down, but not to the extent they are in the Phoenix metro area and to be quite frank, I doubt they ever will be.  It is just a different location and a different market and the sellers in this market may not have to sell.  They may want to, but they don't have to, and they won't give their homes away.

So, I come back to the initial question.  What are you waiting for?  If you want a nice home in the White Mountains this is a good time to shop.  There are some nice homes at prices that we haven't seen in this market in at least 10 years.  It really is a buyer's market and it will be for some time to come.  Just don't expect to find the bargain of the century in the White Mountains because chances are you will be disappointed.

Thanks for reading.  I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Until next time.....

Sandra Paulow, Associate Broker, GRI, SFR, REALTOR® (928) 242-0300

Your High Country Connection for Real Estate!