This is the question that my broker in charge asked all of us last week.  She told us to be prepared to answer this question at our weekly meeting this week.  Basically she wanted to know what each of us thought was the  reason that we felt that someone should choose us and entrust us with marketing and selling their house over all of the other available agents.  Here is my answer: ” I can promise you that you will not find anyone else that will work as hard for you as I will.  What you should be looking for is someone that is educated and informed in the current market. (And I am.  I make sure that I stay current by attending continuing education classes, reading trade magazines and reading current articles on the internet.  I also study numbers from our mls to understand the local market) You need someone with an attention to detail. (I will make sure that from the curb to the basement, your house is prepared to show at its best.  I will give you the information to help you price your house very competitively.)  And most of all, you need someone committed to you and the sale of your house (From fresh fliers in the brochure box out front to daily postings on Craigslist, I will continuously evaluate the marketing strategy for your house).  So, remember, you will not find anyone that will work any harder  to market your house than I will.  And that is a promise!

Of course, if I could easily answer this question for you, I would be answering it from my villa, at the top of the mountain, on my private island, that could only be reached by one of my private planes.  As it is, I can only give you my humble opinion.  I think that buyers are still in a good position at this point.  There are still lots of homes available on the market here in Fayetteville.  We have a lot of resale  and new homes available.  The interest rates are still low and appealing.  Home prices are still low, compared to several years ago.  When will all of this change? I can’t tell you exactly, I just know that it will.  I expect to see home prices rise and homes to be on the market for shorter periods of time before they are purchased.  At that point, sellers may begin to fight back a little and not give in to all of the buyers’ demands.   As in other cycles of life, we will watch the housing market cycle back around again.

I continually run into people that tell me that they would really like to buy, but they assume that they would not qualify, so they continue to rent.   In the Fayetteville, NC rental market, if you qualify, it can be much cheaper to purchase than to rent.  There is a very strong rental market here, so rental prices  tend to be higher and moderately priced properties are scarce.  And it may be true that you do not qualify to purchase right now, but my advice to you is to speak with a mortgage loan officer and let them assess your situation.  Sometimes we find out that there are a couple of quick easy fixes, such as pay off a particular bill, that will drastically improve your situation.  Your mortgage loan officer can give you an idea of what your time frame is to reach the sweet spot where you can purchase.  That information will give you guidelines to follow to reach your ultimate goal of home ownership.  Information is always a good thing!