One of the biggest questions brokers and realtors are asked is: “ How is the market?” This question is asked often once a person learns you work in real estate. And, it is a great question as the market changes. Sometimes it can be years before changes are evident, but shifts and changes always occur and the market never stays the same.
“Is it a seller’s market or a buyer’s market?” This is another great question, and the advice we give our buyer clients will also change depending if the market favors buyers or sellers based on market supply and demand.
Different Goal = Different Strategy = Different Purchase. An additional consideration when it comes to Cape Cod is the home’s location and what your ultimate goal is. For example, are you looking for a year-round neighborhood, or a home close to the water? Essentially Cape Cod has two different markets, and while sometimes they are in sync, many times they are affected differently as the market moves through shifts and changes. This is why extensive local knowledge can be such an advantage. The benefits of local knowledge cannot be substituted with big search engines and their algorithms when determining market value. Our market here on Cape Cod is quite unique. Because we are on a peninsula surrounded by water, the impact on home prices is dramatic. Our extensive local knowledge often proves invaluable throughout the buying process.
An experienced, knowledgeable buyer’s agent should quickly adapt to these market changes, all while taking their client’s situation into consideration. What do we mean by situation? We all have differing circumstances and reasons for how we approach making decisions and what is important to us. Each offer brings a different set of circumstances, a different house, sellers, listing agent. Our overall process is to assess each situation and advise you accordingly based on your criteria of what is important, and the current market situation, and ultimately give you the best path that will successfully lead you to a positive outcome. And then, in the end, you decide what is right for you.
It is important to look for a buyer’s agent that is knowledgeable about that property’s specific location and can offer their insight and thoughts with respect to the current market. You ultimately make the decision, but our team is groomed to offer advice and the best solutions to obstacles, not just be messengers passing along information between parties in a transaction. And while there are many great agents from which to choose, we always recommend that you look for an agent that has your best interest at heart and offers “good” advice overall, and of course one that always adapts to their strategy to the current market.