Real estate consumers tell it like it is
Panel of buyers, sellers, renters share 'war stories'
BY GLENN ROBERTS JR., FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 2012.
House-hunting couple via Shutterstock.com.NEW YORK -- While there are plenty of real estate industry discussions and reports focused on consumer trends, demographics and behavior, a roomful of real estate agents, brokers, executives and technologists got to hear firsthand about consumers' hopes, dreams and fears during a session at the Real Estate Connect conference last week.
Dora M. Abreau, a software engineer, had tried to buy a property via auction, but that didn't work out. "I don't have the time to do all the research to know what the market is doing," she said, although "it's pretty obvious now is the time to buy -- the market is low."
Economic uncertainty is a very tangible factor in their real estate decisions, said Abreau and other panelists. "People are losing their jobs, and that can happen to anybody. It's very real. You want to get into a situation where you know you can handle -- sustain -- a mortgage if you get downsized or not. That's something factored into where I would live, where I would move and where I would buy."
Abreau said she started her home-search process several times, and the circumstances haven't been right. Moves from Chicago to New Jersey, and later from New Jersey to New York, had interrupted previous home searches, and during a search in New York her agent ended up moving to Florida, she said.
While she has met some real estate agents who are a good fit, others have not, she said. Her advice to real estate professionals: "Be upfront and honest."
And instead of telling consumers, "Oh, you didn't know about that?" when something unexpected comes up during the homebuying process, she advised that agents should be the ones holding the hands of their clients.
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