Should buyers wait a while to see what happens to the housing market?

Are we just seeing the usual end-of-selling-season malaise when where all of the motivated sellers have succeeded, and just the OPTs are stacking up?

Or has the market shifted…..for good? Is this the peak?

I think it depends on your needs:

1. Only buying a premium property – then stay in the hunt. In the last downturn, the prices of the premium properties held up well – most had less than a 10% decline in value, and that’s before people started hoarding real estate (not selling for any reason).
2. Only buying a single story – then stay in the hunt.  The one-story market is red-hot, with demand far out-stripping supply, especially in the newer-home or view categories.
3. Willing to buy a fixer – be patient.  Buy when you see the appropriate gap of 5% to 10% between the creampuffs and the ones that bark at traffic.  If the home is in original condition, the gap should be larger.
4. Only want to steal a property – very unlikely in the near-term.  Sellers aren’t that motivated, and only a small minority might consider selling for less than 5% of list.

We should be in a stagnant state for months, as everyone waits to see what happens next spring.  But I think buyers will be similarly picky then too.

We’ll see the same or similar psychology take over the whole country at the same time – which is the way it always happens.  What needs to adjust is the sellers’ trend to expect more than what the last guy got.

Here is a discussion guided by our friend and realtor Tom Stone about the market in Sonoma County (follow the link) – and check the comment section too, where Tom mentions the solution. Hat tip Eddie89!