Buyers Pandemic Remorse

Posted by Gary Hoeferkamp, November 16, 2022

There have been numerous articles this year displaying Buyer's Remorse on the homes they bought during the pandemic. I linked one below to show, even though it is from May, that the reasons given are not regret about the purchase itself, but about various home features or the process itself they wish could have been done better.

5 Reasons Why Pandemic Home Buyers are Having Serious Buyer's Remorse (yahoo.com)

Understandably so, buyers felt rushed, paid more than they wanted, gave up certain contract rights, bought a smaller house or a different area, and overall felt the process was difficult and unfair. Agreed, it was. Buyers were not getting what they hoped for.

My clients get inspections and the right to terminate after reviewing reports, and that removes much of the anxiety and potential remorse in a home purchase. Repairs can be negotiated or waived. I make sure they are comfortable with financing vs cash, proper valuations, and how best to compete without losing valuable protections. I don't push my buyers beyond what they are comfortable with. There are many more cash or cash-like offers to contend with today, and that may not go away anytime soon. I am working on a way for low-down payment buyers to better compete with that, and will share in the upcoming weeks. And I am seeing very little in the way of lower prices in our metro, contrary to many of the national news stories.

Opendoor lost a huge amount of money in the 3rd Quarter. As did Zillow the year before, when they quit i-buying/ home flipping entirely. Redfin just quit too after substantial 3rd Quarter losses. The Opendoor model of direct buying and home flipping with little to no reconditioning only works in a fast-rising market, as evidenced by them now selling more homes than buying, and getting into the brokerage business (imagine that!):

Opendoor Technologies Third Quarter 2022 Earnings: Revenues Beat Expectations, EPS Lags (yahoo.com)

Redfin Reports Third Quarter 2022 Financial Results (yahoo.com)

The STL benefit is that these folks are small players in our market, so when they sell all their properties at once, it makes little difference in our inventory levels. Target markets like Phoenix, Vegas, Tampa and Charlotte may have a difficult time absorbing larger amounts of homes for sale, and realize more downward pressure on prices. The large players that are still buying now are renting them out. That has always been a safe play, I have individual investors that buy and hold, reaping positive returns for years to come.

In this era of national real estate companies downsizing, I am expanding my firm and looking to add another experienced, full time agent. Please have her/ him contact me today to get ready for their best year in 2023!

Hoeferkamp Real Estate launched our new company website last week! I still have my own website at www.GaryH.com and continue servicing my clients full time, but now added an additional site that advertises for everyone at the growing firm. Check out www.HoeferkampRealEstate.com. We will continue adding and tweaking things, including our new listings, agents and other client offerings, so come back frequently to both my site and the company's!

I am currently SOLD OUT of homes for sale! I am actively showing several buyers, and have numerous sellers lining up for next year, but will be working thru the holidays if anyone wants to sell before the spring rush. Yes, many homes are still selling quickly right now, and for top prices!

Happy Thanksgiving next week!