Here are examples of what well-qualified home buyers are saying about the Memphis Real Estate Market on a daily basis: “Well, I haven’t decided not to buy a home yet.” (Is there a positive commitment in there somewhere?) or “A guy who lives in this neighborhood told me this is a bad time to buy.” (Who wouldn’t prefer vacant houses and for sale signs in their neighborhood over occupied houses?), and of course various variations of the “I am waiting for the market to bottom out or prices to drop a lot lower before I commit” scenario. We won’t know the bottom until we have passed it and prices are trending upward again for a significant period of time.
These folks fit the same financial profile of buyers 2 years ago who were willing to forego negotiations because they had found their dream home and they wanted it Right Now! I show buyers homes now, knowing that they have renting in the backs of their minds. A spin-off on renting: leases are more iron-clad, and landlords are less willing to let tenants out of a lease, should they change their minds and decide to buy.
Public opinion and the media have managed to induce paranoia into the mostly stable Memphis market. MAAR’s Hop Off the Fence campaign has lots of merit, and the site is worth a look for agents and consumers alike.
I don’t expect much more price correction downward except in certain niches. I show and preview a lot of properties, and there are great deals out there. Yes, there will be more foreclosures, and more bad news about the sub-prime crisis, but the inherent value of real estate is still there, and Realtors and consumers must differentiate between home ownership and the bad loans problems of others.