House Buying Season is Quickly Approaching

With the spring season fast approaching, many realtors are getting ready for an increase in potential home buyers. However, there aren’t any major incentives that are currently getting potential buyers excited this year like last year’s tax credit for first-time home buyers. And with the shaky economy still wearing on peoples’ minds, buying a home may not be one of the things that many people are thinking about doing this year.

According to a survey conducted for the National Association of Realtors, about 60 percent of the people who would like to purchase a home are worried about their credit and their job security. The survey, which asked 3,500 renters and homeowners about their thoughts on buying a new home, shows the thoughts and feelings that potential buyers have had for quite some time now. However, despite the findings, many realtors are expecting a rebound in the coming months because prospective buyers are worried that mortgage rates may start going up a few percentage points before leveling off. This could cost them thousands of dollars over the life of their home loan so many buyers want to get into the market before this happens.

Because potential buyers have so many homes on the market to choose from, realtors are doing everything they can to impress buyers when they do a showing. Staging is one of the most important aspects of selling a home because it shows the buyer the potential that the home has. One problem that has come up recently, however, is that buyers expect “perfection with comfort,” according to one real estate broker with Prudential Fox and Roach Realtors. He says that staging has become such a craze that buyers have become “spoiled” and some homes are more like “museum pieces” rather than homes.

Buyers are no longer settling for homes that need just a few touchup repairs. There was a time when a few nail holes and other small repairs would be tolerated by buyers. But these days, realtors are finding that deferred maintenance could be a deal breaker as many buyers want a home that they can move into without worrying about doing repairs as soon as they move in. The feeling that many buyers have is that if there are these small repairs that need to be done, there are probably larger repairs they will run into soon after moving in.

If you are shopping for a home this year, you will likely notice that realtors have stepped up their game when it comes to providing a perfectly staged home when you arrive for your showing appointment. Be sure to do your homework and research the home beforehand so you are not taken in by how nice it looks on the surface so you can find a house you will truly be happy with.