There are many questions and there are many answers, but the million dollar question is:
How is the market?
A. And my answer is: GREAT! Yes, in my opinion, the market is always great. It is either a great buyer's market or it is a great seller's market. It is never both and it is never neither. Right now, in the Denver area, it is a great buyer's market. There are thousands and thousands of homes on the market, giving a buyer plenty to choose from. And some of these houses have been on the market for a long, long, long time.
The second reason it is a great buyer's market is interest rates. Interest rates are GREAT! Yes, a below 6% fixed rate is GREAT. If you are a potential buyer, but you are sitting on the fence, waiting for the market to turn..........get off the fence. If the market turns, it will be OUT of your favor. Interest rates and home prices will rise again before they fall.
As glamorous as it may sound, this is not a fix-n-flip market. It is a buy-n-hold market, which means it is a market geared towards buying real estate at a low price, similar to the stock market, and selling it when prices rise again. Unlike the stock market though, the real estate market gives you something tangible to hold. Buy dirt and you won't get hurt.
Another very common question is, why do I need a REALTOR?
A. As a buyer, there are many resources available to search for your new home, on your own. The problem arises when you find a home that interests you. When buyers contact the agent listing the house, they seem to forget to ask themselves, "Who does this agent work for?" The listing agent is contracted with, and works on the behalf of the seller. As much as the listing agent wants to convince you that they will work in your best interests, their PRIMARY goal is to get as much money for the house as possilbe. If you share information with the listing agent, they will tell the seller.
Additionally, once the buyer contacts the listing agent, what is the next step? What is the process? Most buyers are now no longer working on their own behalves.
It costs the buyer absolutely nothing to work with a REALTOR. Why not have someone working solely in your best interests, tying up all the loose ends, while you can relax and go on with your normal, everyday life?
A. As a seller, the ideal situation would be to have a buyer, who is just as clueless as you are, show up to buy your house without an agent to pay a commission to. Unfortunately, the chances of a For Sale By Owner meeting a buyer without an agent, are not very good. Now the seller is stuck in the same situation as above. They are now working with an agent that is not working in their best interests. Or, an even worse and more likely case, they do not attract buyers at all. Word of mouth or a Home Depot 'for sale' sign in the yard or on the corner is not enough to attract buyers, with or without agents. Even with all resources available, the average time on the market is months. It makes sense to hire a professional to guide and advise you towards the most effective way to sell your house.