It’s been a mad, mad world the past few years, and that very much includes the real estate market. But the times, they are a changin’—yet again. And the good news for potential homebuyers is that the “anything goes” rules of the COVID-19 pandemic housing market frenzy are lifting.
While we have yet to reach homeostasis—where buyers and sellers have equal power—there are signs of a more balanced real estate exchange.
In fact, even with rising interest rates and inflation, a recent survey by fintech mortgage lender Lower found that nearly 6 in 10 potential homebuyers (56%) felt that right now was the right time to buy a house.
How is that possible? While higher interest rates mean some potential buyers will find themselves unable to qualify for a mortgage, this cooling demand benefits the buyers who are still out there, giving them more options—and a little more negotiating power. Granted, exactly how much power buyers have will vary by location—certain stubbornly hot markets will remain a struggle. But the prevailing winds are blowing a bit more in favor of buyers these days. As such, many of the crazy rules you were hearing (and likely following) during the past two years of real estate pandemonium no longer apply.
To help you reset for this new world, here are some of the pandemic-era real estate rules that are now OK to break.
1. ‘If you love a house, you have to make an offer immediately’
During the pandemic, if you hesitated on a house, someone else would very well scoop it up on the spot. Today, however, there may be a little more time to think before you make an offer.
“In the past couple of years, you’d need to put an offer in within hours of seeing a home,” says Elizabeth Sugar Boese, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Realty in Boulder, CO. “And while inventory is still low, there are a lot more homes available on the market than throughout the pandemic since 2020. This has provided buyers an opportunity to actually shop around.”
Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale agrees, saying that homes are taking longer to sell this year than last. (Listings currently linger 50 days—7 days longer than a year earlier.)
“In general, you likely have more time to make an offer, although that’s certainly not a guarantee,” says Hale. “If you’re on the fence about a home or its asking price doesn’t quite fit your budget, you might want to keep an eye on it, and if it doesn’t sell right away, you may have some room to negotiate with the seller.”
In fact, Boese recently worked with clients who fell in love with a home.
“We wanted to put an offer in right away, but also wanted to buy it for less than list price—so we waited a month,” says Boese.
After a month, it was still on the market, which meant her buyers could also break another cardinal pandemic rule. (See our next point.)
2. ‘Prepare to pay way over the asking price’
Realtor.com
