With all this talk of our current "seller's market", I don't want you to think it's impossible to buy right now. It's definitely challenging, but, it's certainly doable.
In most cases, buyers are competing for property at the offer stage, and the seller will have choices as to which offer to accept. So, you must put your best foot forward, and convince the seller you are the best buyer for them.
Preparation, flexibility, patience and persistence are all keys to success in this market. This is the general advice I give to all my buyer clients, regardless of whether they are first timers, move up/down buyers, or investors.
Buying a home really is an emotional purchase in many ways, so, it's most important that you have a clear picture of your financial capabilities, and a good knowledge of market values before the shopping gets serious. Otherwise, you're at risk of becoming slightly irrational in the frenzy of a passion purchase. ;)😉
Having said that, there are also two values ~ market value, and the value to you, whether that's more or less. It pays to keep a level head.
It's also good to have a clear picture of what you NEED to have in your home, and perhaps build in some flexibility with what you WANT in a home. With low inventory, and rising prices, the sooner you can make a purchase, the better, and, that may involve a bit of compromise.
Yes, it can be time consuming, and there may be a few disappointments along the way. But, if you can be patient and persistent, we've got this!

The biggest real estate event in our area this week, was that the average property values topped $500,000 in August. Wow! We've made some huge jumps over the last few years!
This is celebration news for those who own property. This means you've gained significant equity that can be used to move up, buy an investment property, retire in a much better position, even help the kids to buy their first home. It has certainly given all of us plenty of options and opportunities!
I know many of you are asking the questions ~ I've heard them several times this week alone! Is this a good time to buy? Is this a good time to sell? Great questions. And, from a strictly investment standpoint, yes. Absolutely.
If I've learned anything over the past 30+ years in this biz, it's that you can't time the market. No one saw this fast value rise coming, and no one can predict what will happen in the future. All we know for sure is what's happening right now. And, right now is pretty great!
Historically speaking, real estate has always been a solid investment. Yes, there have been a few dips and detours along the way, but, overall, values have risen. Never with as much gusto as recently, but, always upward. There's a great quote that rings true. "Don't wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and wait". It's a long term investment, no question there.
The question you really should be asking yourself, is whether this is a good time for you personally. Does it fit in with your life goals right now? Will it move you forward? If it does, take the plunge. If it doesn't, then perhaps this isn't the time.
Don't let the market intimidate you, my job is to help you navigate that.
Skip the news, and do what's right for you. Right now.

​This has been an unexpected, and truly enlightening week for me.
On Monday, someone attempted to change my Facebook password. I have a dual ID system set up, so, they were not successful. But, when I told FB it wasn't me, some very bad things happened. My account was immediately disabled, then, 2 days later, completely deleted, with no recovery. It took another 24 hours before I was allowed to set up a new account, and there was some doubt about that.
My emotions certainly ran the gamut over those 3 days! There was anger, frustration, confusion, sadness, even some panic.
I spent some time thinking about how dependent I've become on this platform. Many of my friends and family are here, many of my clients are here, my photos and memories of events and posts over the past 10-15 years, all gone in the blink of an eye.
Then I spent some time thinking I was being ridiculous. After all, I have relationships with most of you outside of Facebook, I have my photos saved, I still have memories in my head. ;)
But, where would I get my news? I would miss discovering old friends, and new clients. Would my business suffer without an FB presence? Would I have a quieter and more focused life? Would life be easier, or harder?
Facebook has become such a large part of my life, that I really didn't know how I was going to manage without it, This is something I hadn't realized before! Hmmm. It starts to sound like an addiction doesn't it?
I'm sure I would have found ways to compensate, but, thankfully I've been allowed to "restart" my existence here. It does have a "newness" about it, a chance to redesign a few things, simplify things a little. But, it's also a daunting process to find all my peeps, set up a new business page, find all the other businesses and groups I followed. And, of course, once this is done, perhaps find a few ways to lighten this dependence! :)
This morning, I can say that it has been a very intense week, and there's a long way to go, but, I've made some great progress in rebuilding. And, most of all, I am so very thankful to all of you who are reading this post/blog. I am SO happy you're still here!!