Buyers' Market Dilemma—300+ Homes! How Many Should I See?

Home buyers across the U.S. are in facing a stressing situation—Too many homes to choose from and it is overwhelming. With foreclosures, short sales and traditional sellers that need to sell homes due to relocation or family changes, there are hundreds of homes on the proverbial real estate shelves! As a REALTOR® in the Twin Cities north metro (Forest Lake, Ham Lake, Blaine and Lino Lakes areas), I have had a number of clients approach me with some very loose home selection criteria. Our first conversation, might sound something like this:

“Teri, I am willing to go anywhere for a single family home under $250,000. I just need a couple of bedrooms and a garage anywhere between Anoka and Lindstrom. Heck, I would even consider one of those townhomes, if the price was right.”

The problem here is that with this type of open-mindedness, homebuyers have literally hundreds of homes available to choose from. While this might sound like a good thing, when faced with hundreds of choices, the amount of homes is overwhelming to the buyer going it alone.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development website, the average buyer sees 15 homes before writing an offer on a home. In my experience this is a fairly accurate estimate. Most buyers begin to tire of the whole process after seeing a dozen homes. All of the homes start to look alike and become a jumble.

In a buyer's market, with vast options, how do you narrow down the list and focus on the best homes?

1. Write down what you must have in a home. Need a 3 car garage? Want a gas fireplace? Can't live without hardwood floors? Would die without central air conditioning? Write down those must haves and weed out the homes that don't fit.
   
2. Select a neighborhood, area or school district. If you must be within 5 miles of work or your kids want to be in the same school district, use this to define your search area.
   
3. Work with an agent. By working with an experienced agent, my clients are able to get that list of homes down to a manageable level in short order. Although many internet searches have become very detailed, they are still not as detailed as the ones used by licensed agents. The closest public internet MLS search that will allow you to search like a REALTOR® is Listingbook. But in order to use the Twin Cities version of Listingbook, you must sign up through a licensed agent. This search allows you to set up your very own detailed searches that meet specific wants and needs.

It doesn't cost buyers anything to work with an agent. Our fees are traditionally paid for by the seller. But a REALTOR®'s service can be invaluable by saving the homebuyer time and frustration.

As a case in point, I had a client that was looking for homes in vast area of Anoka County. He started out by saying he wanted to be within 15-20 miles of his work in Blaine but somewhat close to downtown Minneapolis and the airport. He was willing to spend up to $200,000 and do some work on the home. He was okay with any home size of at least two bedrooms and one bath as long as it had a two car garage.

When we set his initial search using a map search, price point and garage size alone, he had well over 300 homes to choose from. After a first day showing four homes, I learned from this client that hardwood floors were a "must have" and any foreclosure home in severe disrepair was not to be considered. He really wanted to be in Blaine or Lino Lakes and have a bit of a backyard. After re-setting the search and reviewing the homes, I emailed my client 27 single family homes that met his needs. He chose ten for showings. After one day of viewing homes, we had the list pared down to four homes for second showings and possible offers.

Had this client chose to go it alone, he would have been overwhelmed, distracted and frustrated running to several homes that he really didn’t want to buy. By setting specific criteria and using my expertise as an experienced agent, the number of homes quickly became a manageable amount. The buyer remained focused and was able to define his concept of an ideal home.

So what happens to the homebuyer that feels there are no homes that are meeting all of the required criteria? The beauty of abundant real estate inventory is that buyers have an opportunity to key in on more of their wants and needs for their dream home. Remember, no home will ever be 100% perfect. If too many wants are specified, there may not be a home that will ever measure up. If the list of homes available is too short, see if any of the "must haves" are really necessary.

If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet , Homebuyers Success Packet or sign up for Listingbook Twin Cities Home Search. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2009 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/