Charter One Realty Blog

Blog by George Cobb

The Cobb Group at Charter One Realty

It is clear that supply and demand drive real estate decisions, but you would be amazed how important “timing” is in real estate and how it makes a difference in winning or losing. For example, if the market is in a stall period, it is easy for buyers and sellers to sit back and watch without having to make any critical commitments.

However, if you want to be a winner, one needs to pay attention to the statistics on change. Currently, the real estate business is under slow but constant improvement. Inventory is decreasing and prices are moving up. Days on market are decreasing, and accurately priced homes, villas and lots on the market are selling very quickly.

If you’re a buyer in today’s real estate market, acting sooner rather than later is key.  You cannot wait for the ideal property deal or hesitate hoping the primary home you are seeking will be on the market “next week”. Often in this situation, you and your family will have to settle for a second home, and your decision to wait will always be questioned.

All real estate indicators for most categories of homes in the Lowcountry are moving in a positive direction, and the pain from the financial crisis is subsiding. The short sale and foreclosure rates are slowed to a trickle, and you need to pay attention to the market especially as a motivated buyer.

With that said, you’re probably wondering what the headline of this article has to do with real estate. Let’s take the story of the yellow banana. Typically, when you go to the market to buy bananas you want to buy them a little green or bright yellow so they will last and will be enjoyed. What you don’t want to do is wait until all the good bananas are gone and you are left with spotted soft bananas that are already ruined, and you probably will toss when you get home.

The green and ripe bananas represent the best properties on the market. These are the homes in the communities you desire with the views and amenities that you are looking for in a property. The spotted banana represents the picked over real estate on the market.

Don’t be the one who is going to outsmart everyone by waiting or trying to undercut the fair pricing of property you would like to have. This is the time to find the right property, decide on a fair price, and make the move. This is not the time to be a spotted banana buyer who goes home with a goose egg or has to settle for second place.