Today I took a nice couple all around the outskirts of Reno to see semi-rural properties. They are considering a move from Southern California and wanted to check out the area. We looked in the Virginia Foothills, Washoe Valley, Galena Forest, South Suburban Reno, Southwest Reno, Mogul and Verdi (yes, we covered a lot of ground).
Of the seven houses we had planned to see, we only entered three. Pretty much, we’d drive up to the property, and the buyers knew instantly whether or not they liked it. They looked at the neighborhood, they looked at the house. Snap, they made their decision.
Buyers reject homes for all kinds of reasons, but in this case, the houses were either too old, there weren’t enough trees, the neighbors were messy, the architecture wasn’t appealing, the yard was overgrown, it was too far out of town, the freeway was noisy. As we went from house to house, it became crystal clear what these buyers wanted: a well-designed, well-priced contemporary craftsman style home in Galena Forest.
Home buying is a process of discovery. You look online, you run the numbers, you look online some more, you come out and drive around, you look inside, you decide. It takes most people 12-18 months to actually purchase. That’s normal.
In a swift market, sellers don’t worry about all this because there are so many buyers swarming, it doesn’t matter how many rejected it or why because they’ve got offers. In a slow market, sellers (and their listing agents) obsess over these little details. (What? Your buyers, the only buyers that made an appointment all week didn’t actually want to enter the house? How is that possible? Sure, you can’t see the front door because of the 1975 Winnebego parked out front, but it’s gorgeous inside!)
Right now, buyers are golden. Sellers are a dime a dozen. People, you need to look at the market with a strategic eye and adjust your plans accordingly.
