Home Out of Your Price Range?
Maybe Not in A Slow Real Estate Market.

Before shopping for a home you must know what you can afford. Generally, affordability is determined by how much a lender is willing to lend you. A smart buyer will be even more conservative to gain additional flexibility if unexpected financial hardships occur in the future such as loss of employment or disablity. Be careful not to over-reach your budget if you want to avoid the future stress that comes with struggles to service monthly debt. Once your budget is established, stick to it.

In an average real estate market, only look at homes with asking prices reasonably within your price range.This is particularly true in a hot real estate market where sellers often entertain multiple proposals above an asking price. When making an offer, you must be careful not to offend the seller with an unrealistically low-ball offer unless that offer is at your maximum affordability range. Otherwise if you insult the seller, the seller may refuse to negotiate any further with you.

In A Slow Market, The Strategy May Change.

In a slow real estate market, you might consider searching for homes with asking prices a little higher than you can afford. Suppose you discover your dream home but the price stretches way past your budget. Normally you should walk away to avoid the temptation of exceeding your budget. But hey, this house is ideal. It's a dream home. It exceeds all of your expectations.

In a slow market, you may not want to walk away without at least exploring the possibilty of getting more home at your price. A key factor in a housing market is demand. When demand drops, so must prices. A small pool of buyers means less competition and fewer offers for the seller.

The longer a house sits on the market, the more motivated a seller becomes. The seller may not be able to afford the monthly payments any longer. Maybe the seller has a deadline on a job transfer. Although the asking price may be outside your affordability range, this may be your lucky day.

Go ahead and make your best offer. After all, you are offering the maximum end of your budget anyway so you don't have to worry about offending the seller. If you get rejected you keep searching. But you may be surprised and extrememly happy if your offer is accepted.

Happy home-hunting. Begin your Phoenix area real estate search by checking the Phoenix MLS homes for sale throughout Greater Phoenix and Scottsdale.

Also read:
How Much Home Can You Afford?

Attention Realtors: Please do not republish this article on your website or blog. If you would like content for your readers we will consider writing a unique article for your website upon request. Click here for more information.