Fredericksburg Texas

It appears as if sellers of real estate in Fredericksburg, Texas are gathering for a mini-stampede to reduce the prices on their property.  This could be a combination of the bad press real estate has received in the national media as of late and the realization that buyers have grown more cautious and (most importantly) more informed.

I will step out here an opine that sellers (along with and at the advice of their agents) are realizing that the days of tossing a property on the market at above-market prices hoping to get lucky are ever-increasingly a thing of the past. While the perception may be that the market has cooled a bit, the reality is that there are still buyers out looking but they are no longer willing to be lead around by the nose.

Buyers today are savvy, connected, informed and experienced.  Most sellers in this market are in their second, maybe third real estate transaction whereas most buyers seem to be very adept at “playing the game”.  The scale may finally be tipping to the buyer’s side of the equation.

As the length of time that properties stay on the market increases and price reductions become the norm rather than the exception, buyers will gain leverage.  In the last 9 days alone, 49 new properties were listed for sale and 40 others were reduced in price, some significantly.

Sellers need not despair and buyer’s need not gloat.  It is my humble opinion that the “correction” in the wind at the moment is seasonal.  It should come as no surprise that the inventory of listings get weaker and weaker at this time of year.  Seller psychology assumes that the “prime selling season” is behind us and it’s time to prep for the holidays.

I have heard some round-a-bout criticism of opinions expressed in this harmless thing called a blog.  Let me just say that the opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.  If you don’t care for what I have to say, don’t read it.

As a professional who makes a living dispensing advice to buyers and sellers of real estate in Fredericksburg, Texas, I walk a fine line between giving (or receiving) too much information (TMI).

A lot of folks make the assumption that the more information you have the better decisions you can make.  While this may be true in many instances, real estate brokers should be careful about what information they receive (or collect) as they are bound by various agreements (Code of Ethics, Listing Agreements, etc.) to use that information to the absolute benefit of the people they represent.

For example, if I am representing a buyer whose loan commitment expires on a certain date (necessitating that a sale closes by a certain date or risking a higher interest rate or more fees) I have information that would be useful for a seller to know.  Obviously, I don’t want a seller to know that.  The intricacies of agency relationships dictate what I can, can’t, and should, shouldn’t do with this information.  It’s tricky.

Should I even know about the “rate lock”?  It depends on who I represent and under what agreements I am bound.  I try very hard to operate with a black and white moral compass when it comes to “doing the right thing”; unfortunately, the world (and real estate transactions) has been diluted to a point where many shades of gray present themselves.  A lot of the fun is being sucked out of this business.

The bottom line is that everyone involved in a real estate transaction must be cognizant of the fact that anything they say can and will be used.  Whether or not it’s use for them or against them depends on circumstances only an experienced professional can advise them on.  http://www.fredericksburg-texas-property-for-sale.com