Should You Buy or Sell Now in Our Market or Wait?

The question of whether you should wait on our market or act now depends on your situation. If it makes sense financially for you to make a move now, go for it.


Should you wait on our current market?

Before I answer that question, I will summarize our market by focusing on three key factors: interest rates, home prices, and inventory.

If you have been following the market, you know that interest rates have been creeping up slowly month over month. If you are a buyer, every time rates go up it decreases your buying power. For instance, if you are looking to buy a $750,000 home and interest rates rise just an eighth of a point, you will no longer be able to afford that home. If you are a seller, every rise in interest rates reduces the number of buyers looking for your specific property.

Home prices are rising as well. Again, if you are a buyer, this means you will only be able to afford less as time goes on. As a seller, this is great news for your home sale’s potential. If you are looking to move up to a larger property after you sell, however, the price of that home is only going to increase too.

If it makes financial sense for you to buy or sell now, go for it.

Inventory is something our market’s been struggling with. Buyers love more inventory, but there aren’t a lot of homes to choose from. May, June, and July constitute our highest selling season, though, and this stretch is also the best time to buy a property, so you should see more homes coming onto the market. If you are a seller, this isn’t exactly good news. It means you will have more competition 

So to answer the question of whether you should wait or not, it depends—as I have said many times before—on your situation.

To me, real estate is math. If you are a seller and you want to sell and buy, you want to calculate how much your home will sell for and how much that sale will allow you to afford for your next purchase. If you are a buyer, you need to talk to a lender before you do anything else so you know what you can afford. After that, dig deep and ask yourself why you are making the move to begin with.

After you look at the big picture and it makes sense financially for you to buy or sell, then I say go for it. We know what is going on right now, but we can’t predict the future. Prices may fall 12 months down the road, but interest rates may rise a full 1% during that time as well, which means you would pay more per month for a house you actually got for less.  

As always, whether you are buying or selling, nothing replaces a great real estate agent. If you are already working with an agent, talk to them about these things. If you don’t have an agent, please feel free to give us a call so we can talk about how we can help you achieve your real estate goals.

If you have any other questions about our market or you have any other real estate needs, please reach out to me as well. I would be happy to help you.

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Location: Orange County, CA, USA

What 3 Stages Do Buyers Go Through While Preparing for a Home Search?

There are three main stages buyers go through as they prepare to purchase a home.



Today, I want to pose an important question: What is your timeline?

My marketing team and I have been conducting some research recently, and we’ve found that there are three primary stages in the real estate timeline that buyers tend to follow as they prepare to make a home purchase. Let’s take a look at each of these stages.
1.  Awareness. We’ve found that people in this stage tend to be between 18 to 24 years old. This is the stage where a person may have considered the notion of buying a home but haven’t really gotten serious about doing so. People often become very comfortable with where they’re at in life. Sometimes, they become too comfortable. In order to move past the awareness stage, you must be proactive.
2.  Interest. Buyers at this stage in their home purchase timeline have become more actively engaged with their home search. They are beginning to look more frequently at online listings, and they may be consuming other media related to the real estate process as a means of preparation. At this point, buyers are typically eight to 12 months away from actually moving forward with a home purchase.
3.  Decision. This final stage in the real estate timeline is the point when buyers are calling Realtors and setting up appointments. Buyers in the decision stage are typically three to six months out from making their home purchase. It is at this stage that people become truly serious about finding a property

A home purchase is a major decision—it takes time.


With all that in mind, remember that a home purchase is a major decision—it takes time. Most of the clients my team and I work with spend several months working their way through the process.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

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Location: Orange County, CA, USA

Don't Settle for a Subpar Real Estate Experience


If you aren’t working with the right agent, you may be leaving money on the table. Allow me to share some insight on how to choose an agent who will maximize your success.



Let me ask you something: Are you leaving money on the table?

Allow me to explain what I mean. For sellers, consider whether you’re truly getting the most out of your listing. On the buyers’ side of things, think about whether the price you’re paying for a home is fair.

I’ve seen a lot of homes sell for more than they should, lately. However, I’ve also seen homes sell for far less than they could have. One reason for this is Realtor mismanagement.

Now, I would like to share some information about the processes of buying and selling a home. Hopefully this insight will help to put everything into perspective for you.

The true challenge is finding an agent who will guide you every step of the way.

There are three parts to each of these processes, and I’d like to go over each of these steps within both processes for you today. Let’s start with the three steps of buying a home:
  1. Find the right home.
  2. Negotiate the contract.
  3. Think about what comes next.

As for sellers, the three steps of listing are:
  1. Find the right buyer.
  2. Negotiate the contract.
  3. Think about what comes next.

You probably noticed that each of these processes, on a basic level, are very similar. Another similarity between these processes is the importance of having a strong Realtor by your side. However, many people in today’s hot market wonder whether it’s worth spending the extra money on one Realtor when another might do the job for half the cost.

Helping someone find a home is easy. And, in a hot market, it’s also easy to help someone find a buyer. If you put a home on the market, list it online, and price it fairly, you’re going to get offers. The true challenge is finding an agent who will guide you every step of the way. The right agent will not only help you to buy or sell a home, they will also help you put (or keep) more money in your pocket at the end of the transaction. If you’re buying a home, you need to work with an agent who can negotiate the best price.

All of these are the considerations you must keep in mind when choosing an agent. Find an agent to work with who you know, like, and trust. Beyond that, find someone who will help you maximize your success. The right agent will keep you informed and continue to provide you with value even after your transaction is complete. Are you looking for an agent who is truly there to help, or are you looking for one who will disappear after closing? The choice is yours.

If you have any other questions, would like more information, or want to know how my team or I could help you reach your real estate goals, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.


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Location: Orange County, CA, USA
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