As REALTORS, we are inundated with industry news and articles on "how to convince a potential home buyer that "now is the time to buy". It has been my experience that home buyers, at least in the La Quinta, CA area, are very much in tune with local market conditions. Many have friends that own homes in the various surrounding golf and gated communities in this area, or they are accessing the Internet to view available listings. In most cases, the last thing they need or want from me, as a Realtor is to give them a sales pitch on why now is the time to buy. They already fully understand the rather unique market conditions that exist right now in terms of low interest rates, low prices and a huge inventory of available homes to select from. What they most often want from me, as a Realtor is to help them narrow down the search (from the huge selection of available homes) to find a home that appeals to them, that is in a gated or golf community that they like, has the right floor-plan and view that appeals to them and is priced to sell in the current market. Fortunately, that is the part of my job as a Realtor that I enjoy the most. It is very gratifying to help a buyer find that perfect home that is also well priced to offer some very good upside potential.
So how is the local market? Well, my most recent listing is currently in escrow after being on the market for only 29 days. It will be awhile before the currently inventory shrinks, but right now, there are sellers that are pricing their homes to sell, and there are buyers taking advantage of the pricing and huge inventory before all the "best" homes are gone. We don't need to "convince buyers to buy" with a well-rehearsed sales pitch, we just need to help them narrow the search down with so many great homes to choose from and help them find the right home. In that respect, it is a great time to be a Realtor!