Back to the Future: Do buyer agents really help consumers save money?
Only one previous blog post during 2018 — is this another abandoned real estate web site?
Hardly. While the housing market has been grossly overheated, and irrational exuberance drove bidding wars $ 100,000 over asking price; our attention as buyer agents, and leading industry reformers, has focused elsewhere. Over the past three decades, Real Estate Cafe’s mission has moved from reforming real estate transactions to cocreating a new money-saving real estate ecosystem to addressing sustainability issues.
We’d like to close 2018 by asking a question we addressed a decade ago: Do buyer agents really help consumers save money?
http://bit.ly/RESaveEBA_2008 (Share link via social media)
The question is more urgent than ever: One in three real estate agents has less than two years experience, so if you’re working with one of them, it’s unlikely that they’ve ever seen a down market. In contrast, Real Estate Cafe has a track record of helping buyers save money during past market cycles, and like other seasoned observers, we see another coming.
If you’re thinking about buying a home during 2019, we invite you to talk about how to use both defensive homebuying and proactive househunting strategies to avoid the 10 hidden costs of reactive househunting. Regardless of whether you employ those money-saving strategies, know that the real estate press is unlikely to document the leading edge of price changes that could save you save your tens of thousands or prevent you from engaging in a bidding war.
To fill that void, Real Estate Cafe offers research “a la carte” to help you make more informed decisions by analyzing MLS data to suit your needs. Prices start at $ 99, and if you’re already working with another buyer agent we’re glad to explore agent-to-agent collaborations or simply offer a second opinion through RECafe-PRO.
Research a la Carte
Before we took a time-out, we developed a Bidding War Scorecard (see sample screenshot above) to protect our clients from overpaying for properties. Our most recent market snapshot revealed some mega-savings opportunities in the luxury price range; more specifically, single-family homes priced above $ 2.5 million across Massachusetts during the 4Q2018. Generally, it follows a pattern identified in this infographic from the Wall Street Journal:
If you’re a buyer, and would like access to the research above on Real Estate Cafe’s intranet, we can provide access to some discussions. If you become a client, we’ll draw from a wider knowledge base developed over past boom / bust cycles and invite your perspective to help make sense of the changing housing market in 2019.
If you’re a DIY homebuyer who’d like an industry leading rebate, or just advice “a la carte” from a buyer agent with nearly 25 years experience helping clients save money; call or text Real Estate Cafe at 617-661-4046 and we can discuss your needs over coffee or a beer. See you at the next #REonTap?