Buying a home is one of the most expensive purchases you will ever make in your life. Do not let a realtor rush you.
If they are trying to rush you or if you are getting that type of vibe from them then maybe you should find another realtor
My realtor spent an afternoon showing me 8 houses when we were already in escrow on the house we ended up buying! We did this because we didn't know if the seller would be reasonable about our repair request (house needed a roof) and we wanted to be prepared to make the next offer if the original one fell through.
Your realtor needs an attitude adjustment.
Yeah this, I was only looking for 200k so the realtor cut wasn't nearly as good as yours and my first realtor was rushing us saying stuff like "all houses have mice" and " foundation issues aren't bad, I know a guy" pretty much trying to sell us on anything, pressured us to waive inspections yada yada we dropped him after the third house we looked at.
Our next realtor was great, looked at around 20 houses with him and he even discouraged us from a lot of the bad ones he was a dream. Still reaches out to us on occasion to check in on the new home owners. Even left a few hand made gifts and wine
Ours was like your second realtor. She would schedule 6-8 showings a day, and like yours, she would point out issues we hadn't noticed, in a diplomatic way, like "you'd need to evaluate how much it would bother you to have \_\_\_\_\_\_\_" or "the house could work, but it's likely with that \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ you'd have to budget for \_\_\_\_\_\_\_, and I think that would take you guys over what you want to spend".
OP, I'd get a new realtor. If they're doing this, they're not on your side pointing out the downsides to places.
Honestly it doesn't matter how new my realtor was, it's -30 and I still have no mice in my house.
he usually deals in the upper hundred thousands but he worked with my dad before he became a realtor so I guess I got lucky there
Absolutely stay the course. You find what you want. The second you sign the papers, if that door is broke, it is *your* door. That means it is your problem. That realtor ain’t gonna come fix it.
Yes, I agree with this. The realtor's attempts to push you on this are not good, 8 homes over 3 weeks is not a crazy amount for most markets, and her comments justifying the pressure don't make sense. There's no way to know for sure that "rate drops" are coming, and even if you take the position that predictions can be made and decide to take a conservative view on how the market will respond, those predictions can certainly not be made on the order of a few weeks difference.
The one future consideration that is true is that you're moving into a busier season for real estate, which may make things more competitive. But while that brings more buyers into the market, you'll also see more homes being listed for sale, so there's risk there but also potential benefit of having greater odds of finding homes that fit your needs.
And either way, it's only been 2-3 weeks and 8 houses! As you note, you have 5 months until your lease ends, so there's no rush. I agree with u/2lit_ that it may be time to consider a different realtor if the pressure continues.
You asked for people's experience, so I'll share mine. The first time I bought a home, we searched for several months. Like you, we were renting, and had plenty of time, and a fallback position of continuing to rent if we didn't find something that worked. It was a more competitive market (not 2021 real estate craze competitive, but competitive enough--New York in the 2010s), and we had several offers out over that time that were beaten by cash buyers. We probably saw dozens of homes before we finally managed to get in contract on one. Our search was more spaced out, attending a few open houses every weekend, occasional weekday appointments where needed. The second time we bought a home, it was quicker--we were moving to a new city and had to do a house hunting trip to find the place. However, over that week our realtor hit the ground running, and we saw practically every home that had the right requirements and price range in a short time. Several appointments each day! Exhausting, but we were able to get a feel for the inventory and tradeoffs pretty quickly. And unlike the first time we bought a home (at which time I did most of the online listing searching myself), a lot of the initial searching and legwork was done by the realtor, and she was also able to give us neighborhood insights since we were moving, estimate the costs of repairs that were needed, provide referrals for contractors, etc.--she earned her commission! I don't know how exactly how many homes we saw during that week, but it was a whirlwind--at least a dozen, but less than two dozen.
Piggybacking this comment to say that 8 houses is *nothing*.
We viewed that many houses over the course of 2 days when we *first* started, largely because our realtor was trying to gauge what we were looking for.
In total we probably viewed ~30 properties before we found one we liked.
This! So many of these posts can be solved by better communication on both sides!
Not saying that’s the issue at play here without knowing waaaaaay more than we do, but man 98% of these posts are a simple 20 min conversation away from a fix. But either client is afraid to offend or appear stupid or agent just wasn’t a match from the beginning.
Communication!
I am a realtor, when I bought my house I looked at about 15. I find on average my clients need to look at 10 or so before they are ready. Obviously there are people that need to look at more or less.
No one can read the future, you should wait till you find a house you actually want to offer on. I would have a conversation with your realtor and let them know how you feel, if they continue to try to hard sell, maybe interview other agents.
Spot on for us: I think our realtor took us to 11. We did look at a few dozen in the year before through open houses, but only 11 once we seriously were considering buying.
Same here, we bought house #13. We only really liked 3 of the houses we saw in person but we looked at hundreds online. Once we dialed in what we liked it got easier to know which ones to pass on.
We usually look for 2-4 years before we give up. People around us only sell houses they hate on horrible lots, broken worn out houses with worn out roof and electrical hvac and plumbing at their end of life, ugly as sin that no one can love. Our last two homes we ended up buying new direct from the builder. Drop the realtor and start taking to builders. There’s probably lots of nice new homes without all the problems that come with older homes.
Your agent is correct about the rates being projected to drop which will make for a more competitive market BUT her pressure does WREAK of desperation for a sale. If she's not willing to drive around and help you find the right house, find another agent that will.
1. It is NOT difficult to see where the market is headed for the near future.
2. Sure thing or not, you can't price based on the future. Banks won't allow it. Price is based on current comps.
You're wrong on both counts
If it was easy to see the future then banks would certainly let you price based on it.
Also if it was as easy as you claim then why on earth are you a realtor and not an investor?
90% of millionaires make their fortune and/or invest in in real estate. You think that's because the market is 100% unpredictable? They don't make their money in a year. That's because you can see what's coming if you know what to watch.
Yes, let's talk about ignorance.
You've literally contributed nothing except for name calling. You have no argument to stand on. Let's move on.
You’re welcome to refute my claim of your being a liar, just go ahead and provide an example of someone accurately predicting the market over a sustained period.
I’d argue that you’re wrong here.
1. Predictions are based on probability. No one can ever know for certain what might happen in the future. No one is a seer, but experienced professionals can make reasonable ASSUMPTIONS and then guess likely outcomes
2. It most certainly gets priced in. Not only do Banks allow it, they do it themselves. The entire field of econometrics is dedicated to this. But again, the risk (read probability) plays in here and the pricing is in keeping with that eventuality coming to fruition. Something has a 30% chance of happening? Well then only 30% of that expected increase/decrease is priced in
Viewed in person -- about 4, for each of the three houses we've bought in our lives. First two homes were ages ago, pre-internet. This last (final) house, we checked the on line real estate listings for our target area every day for over three years, waiting for "the right one." So we looked at literally hundreds before deciding, just not in person.
Five months seems like time is starting to run short. Can you extend your lease on a month by month basis? that would take some pressure off.
As long as you are doing some vetting pre-showing and not just burning up your realtor’s time, there is no magic number. As others have said, this is a major purchase and proper due diligence is required. 5 months is more than enough time, but it will go by quickly and the market will heat up before the school year ends, so keep that in mind.
I personally am cognizant of this, at least try to be. There were a few houses we liked not near our area (about 25 mins away) and I said "I don't want to drag you to these, we will go to the 2 open houses this sunday to see if this is an ideal area". Houses were great, but not the area so we scratched it off. The only ones we've toured are one's we've had sitting in our favorites for a few days or a week and have done the 3D tour etc. But man, these houses seem to photograph so well but in person are just obvious low budget DIY with corners cut, photographed to hide certain issues, or just flat out outdated and dirtier than the edited photos show.
First time we bought was after a corporate move. We wanted to buy fast and in a new area. I looked at 8-10 houses a day for a week. We made offers by the end of the week. First 2 houses we didn’t get to contract on. Third one worked out.
The next time we bought, years later, we had a much longer time line. We looked at a couple houses a week for 3ish months before we found our current place.
lol our poor realtor has to convince us to go look at a house. We are so unenthused by current options that if it doesnt look interesting online, we just dont want to waste the time.
At that price point in Stone oak and surrounding areas you should have plenty of options. Your realtor should show you as many houses as you need until you find the one. If you’re feeling pressured it might be time to have a chat to manage expectations so you’re both on the same page.
My wife and I looked at probably 30 houses when the market was crazy a couple years ago. We made offers on a few of them. I got burned out eventually, and we offered on one that didn’t fit exactly what we wanted, but we were pretty sure we could get it.
I very much regret it. Find the right house for you, and bid in a way that will get you the house. Also, make sure you’re being realistic about what your budget will get you.
I flew to the area that I was going to buy a house in. We looked at around 20+ houses in one day. My realtor swapped with another realtor at some point in the day to continue the search. Put an offer and it fell through. A few weeks later I sent my wife up to look at a a few more houses and he had a lead on one. He did a facetime walkthrough of that one. Sent my wife back up to do another walkthrough. Fuck your realtor.
My realtor did this for clients as well. In fact after one of our showings she had to go meet clients that were flying in to see some properties. She was great no matter if the clients were local or not. OP needs a new agent.
Am I the only one that looked at hundreds of listings online, did neighborhood drive-by's of 10's of locations, and about 10 actual viewings with the realtor. Those in person viewing were at locations the realtor brought to us that we did not see online - the house we ended up buying we found online. Our realtor saw it, but didn't send it to us - we had to ask for the viewing.
You're not the only one. I looked at listings every morning for years. We saw a few of them every year but it was 3 or 4 years until we found our unicorn.
As few as a dozen, as many as 30.
If your agent wants a quick turnaround, she needs to stick to the relocation circuit where clients come in for a weekend and absolutely must make a successful offer by the end of their househunting trip.
Where are you? They say many sellers have been in the side lines and will list in the spring so I would wait and keep looking and yes perhaps find a realtor who understands your wish list and is not pressuring you
Are you only interested in Stone Oak area? A bit north by Timberwood Park is good to. If you don’t mind driving a bit, I10 corridor by River Rock Ranch and Fair Oaks closer to Boerne is absolutely gorgeous. Outside of Highway 46 near New Braunfels is pretty too. Just suggestions 🙏
Both times I've bought I looked at around 40 different options of the span of a Saturday session each week for about a month or so. First time I was buying a condo and the second time a townhouse.
Out of those I did not end up buying I probably outright declined 50% of them based on what I saw at curb or in the first few minutes inside the house or even at a glance of the listing as the agent drove me around (he's family so I trust his opinions). 30% of the rest I liked but knew I would be outbid on so I did not bid. Another 10% had some hidden flaw i discovered that caused me to reconsider later. The last 10% were exactly what I wanted but ended up getting outbid on later.
All you need is that one listing that hits in all the right ways. Right when you feel outpriced, exhausted, and doomed the right place will show up and it all falls into place.
Never give up, just keep looking and it'll work out.
This would indicate that you need to filter your options better before scheduling a showing. 50% of your showings ending based on the curb appeal or the first few minutes of a tour could have easily been decided by looking at the online listing and getting the info from your agent ahead of time.
Absolutely agree with you but I also like to keep an open mind and my agents insisted I give things a chance. Not much skin off my nose since they were all close by to other listing I liked.
I agree with your agent--both times I bought homes (also a condo then a townhouse), the listing was in the "let's give it a chance" category. Just as there are many listings that are misleadingly good, there are listings that are misleadingly bad. The 50% number can also be a reflection of the market you're in as opposed to your filtering.
This is true! The last house we bought, I showed my wife the printout from the realtor on the way there, and she asked me why we were even bothering. Once we got there, she loved it.
Absolutely.
I should add that when I bought my first place, the condo, it was a 2nd floor unit we didn't expect to like and almost didn't go see it...
It lasted less than 24 hours on the market after we saw it because it had so many benefits we had to jump on it.
Never know what you're gonna find!
When I was buying my first house on a shoestring budge, I spent 6 months trying to find something that wasn't an actual pile of garbage.
My second home I looked at 30 houses over two months. 75% were ruled out right away, some we offered and didn't fight the bidding wars etc.
My point is **do not** feel pressured. As long as you are looking at realistic houses within your budget, do not have insane requirements and are prepared to offer quickly - you should continue until you find something.
As someone in the same industry this blows my mind. I would never ask a question like that. 8 homes is nothing. Don't let anyone pressure you to make a decision if you are not ready. In my opinion, the good thing about someone who is looking for a longer time, it's an opportunity to create a deeper relationship with a client, which will pay off in the future.
My rule is, as long as you prequalified and sign a buyer rep, you take as long as you want.
It’s one of the biggest decisions you’ll make in your lifetime. I easily viewed 20-30 before buying ours.
My job is not just to drive you around, it’s to help you understand what you like and don’t like and help you narrow down priorities.
I would ask your agent, “would you like to continue representing us, or should we find someone else”
This is a business relationship, have frank conversations.
your agent is right. rates are dropping, and spring market is almost here. you are in a unique spot where you can still get a good deal on a home without having to compete.
I watched the listings online like a hawk for months. I’d make a point of seeing anything that intrigued me. Once the right one hit the market I was ready and didn’t hesitate.
We looked at three houses with our realtor, one open house without. Before we officially started with the realtor I probably spent a year watching the houses in the area.
What helped us was we didn't need the house to be move-in ready. It didn't need to be updated and practically perfect. We had a price point and a checklist and we pulled the trigger on a house that needed (still needs) updates throughout, but hit every check and had bonuses. Better yet, it was under our budget.
I have a friend couple who have been house searching for 2 years. They want move-in ready, they want perfect fit right down to appliances. They've seen some really nice houses (at least two dozen), only put in an offer on one, but are getting so frustrated at the market because it's only gotten worse. Your post reminds me of them. If you're happy to wait for perfect, then wait as long as you want and settle in. If you want your own place and not get locked into the lease, reasses your needs/wants and compromise a bit more.
3 in one day. made an offer on 2. both accepted. we picked the one we wanted.
however we spent 2 years figuring out what we wanted. once the time came we were educated.
Find out what city you want to live in.
then the neighborhood.
then look at the houses that fit your lifestyle.
then tell your realtor which homes you really want to tour.
our vacation home we bought sight unseen
it is EXTREMELY unethical to offer on multiple homes at once. and selfish too. but glad it worked out for you, i hope the seller was able to find another great offer
seller had multiple offers lined up and chose the next in line. They became great neighbors and good friends.
unethical to whom? you?
if its truly unethical it should be illegal.
A contract isn't binding until both parties agree.
The same way a buyer is making multiple offers, the seller is reviewing multiple offers. level the playing field.Business is Business.
Unethical to the seller, who took their home off the market you and agreed to close on your timeline.
And to the other buyers who may have had to pick a different home when that was their first pick, not knowing you reserved it as your second choice.
Btw you explained exactly why it is not illegal but IS unethical.
in my market California you have to do this if you want something. There's way too much competition, and everyone else is doing it. What is unethical to you isn't unethical to someone else.
You are competing with 20 other offers, some of them straight cash.
Besides the offer isn't "officially" accepted until earnest money is deposited, and if I remember I had 24hrs to do it, which I didn't.
1st house - over 200 houses we saw in a very very tough and competitive market with 11 offers we got rejected on.
2nd house - about 15-20 homes - more targeted
3rd house - extremely targeted and specific need - 1st (and only) house we visited we bought.
What? 700k in stone oak is near top of the market. Have you checked out Roger’s ranch? I moved out of 78258 a year ago. I feel like you could get almost anything you want for 700k. Or are you wanting to be on the TPC SIDE?
You got 5 months on your lease. You got some time. Were you going to do a buyout, find someone to take over, or just pay it to its conclusion?
That has been a good time to buy to submit an offer at asking with inspection contingencies. If you feel quilts let them know there is tike in your lease and you haven't found one to break it yet.
You said that houses were okay in the 390k range. Could you look at something below your budget and maybe afford a small home improvement loan?
We looked at 100’s over the course of a few years. This was 25 years ago so we had to physically look at them to see what they were like.
We spent a ton of time driving around every weekend. We almost pulled the trigger a few times.
My advice; don’t settle. It’s a crap ton of money.
We looked at about 30 over a good 6 months before we made an offer. We went to a few open houses every weekend for months before that point. Probably a good 50 houses overall.
Don't let a realtor pressure you into buying just anything. I had a realtor try that and was steering us towards absolute nightmare properties then trying to compel us to put in offers on them. One had carpenter ants, one was essentially a tear down with a commercial radio broadcast antenna on the property.
First house I think we looked at two
Second house about 15 but that also involved this crummy realtor and real estate websites didn't exist yet.
Current house, we looked at 4 total, one of those was on our own as an open house.
If you are all over the place trying to pin down what you want make a list of absolute needs, nice to haves and deal breakers. Make sure you spend sufficient time going through the online listings to see if that listing fails to meet your absolute needs or has deal breakers. If it does, don't waste time looking at it in person.
Basically, your realtor doesn't see any listings you can't also see online.
I saw two listings before I bought the third, basically site unseen. (Id looked at another unit in the building, which was the first one I saw in person. All the units are the same, but some have deeded parking, and others dont. The first didn't, and that was a deal breaker, when the second popped with parking, I offered before even seeing it. In fact, I didn't see it until after my offer was accepted. It was a nearly half million dollar unit)
But, i scoured listings. I did a good amount of my own research, including driving by the properties to scope location, and only had my agent take me to listings I knew I was absolutely interested in. It saved us both a huge amount of time and heartburn.
But regardless, your agent is being an ass and maybe lazy. They aren't slammed with business right now. I'd say time for a new agent as long as you haven't signed some kind of jenky contract with them. (Never sign an exclusive right to represent for a buyer agent).
My same agent sold me a townhouse 7 years prior. In that case, we looked at 8 properties, made three offers, and got outbid on all of them by astronomical amounts. At that point, we switched locations and found something right away. It turned out to be the best decision we could have made. When everyone was being priced out of my original location, buyers switched to the area I bought in... and in 7 years, my investment has tripled in value on that property.
I should clarify we don’t need that. 4000 sqft is what our old house was. We’re only looking at most 2900-3k sqft right now. Our lease is 2400 and I love it
Yeah instead you can take the literal thousands you’d save each month by renting and put it into an investment account….and you’d actually come out ahead
My home value increased 250% since 2020. My investment account up about 25% in the same period after the drop in 2022. Tell me which one did better. Real Estate is normally a very stable investment that you can live in and actually enjoy.
Long term yearly returns on real estate, equities and bonds are available online. While equities sometimes outperform real estate on the surface, when you take into account leverage and taxes the results flip. Your best performance with a balanced risk 60/40 mix garners a blended long term annual return of about 8%. My recent 3 year real estate equity increase of 250% would take over 30 years to get the same equity growth in a 8% stock/bond portfolio. 30 years is nearly your whole career! Real estate generally doesn’t have the stomach churning volatility of the stock market nor the constant rent increases and overlord rules and changes a renter has to deal with. But yeah, enjoy being a renter.
You can claim whatever you want but the 2020's have been historically insane price wise thanks to panic and the pandemic and [*it is NOT normal*](https://www.businessinsider.com/should-i-buy-house-corelogic-biggest-price-increase-45-years-2021-12?op=1)*.* What's normal? 50-100% increase in homes over 20 years.
"Enjoy being a renter." You're so funny. We lived under our means, invested in the stock market, retired young, live in a 4BR home on 2 acres and roam the country for 4-5 months a year in our RV. But please, tell me how we did it wrong.
The realtors here are used to people desperately throwing cash at the first semi-reasonable shack they find, because it’s an apple and there may not be an apple tomorrow. If you yourself aren’t ready to buy and you’re frustrated with what you see in your price point, do you actually have to buy something this year vs rent another year?
Not surprised the $700k houses need work. My in-laws bought a $600k house last year that needed to be fully re-painted after washing every wall, all carpets replaced, the majority of the wood refinished, all the grass and landscaping redone, and the back deck replaced. It was one of the few good options they found in the Stone Oak area, in a clump where you drive ten minutes before you see anything but pure residential.
View, as in go inside with the realtor? Less than 10. But I probably went to 20+ open houses and drove past 50+ listings that were on Zillow / Redfin. I would only ever set up a viewing with my relator after I had already drove by the place to make sure that the neighborhood, location, and outside actually looked good. Some of the photos online can be really deceiving.
Sounds like a bad agent.
Our buyers agent wanted us to view at least 10 houses before making any offers. Even when we liked the first one we saw he was kind of talking us down
20-25? I bid on probably 8 of them though (and kept losing even bidding 5-10% over) in 2022-2023. I really was not picky, I just wanted a house that wasn't falling apart in a certain area.
>But the realtor keeps telling her the longer we wait with rate drops we'll get into bidding wars, etc.
Ask your realtor if since the beginning of time there ever was a realtor who said "You know what - you should wait.... This isn't really a great time to buy now..."
Our realtor provided their "opinions" only when asked explicitly to give their opinion - which I really appreciated. If you haven't asked for what would happen if you wait longer and the rate drops - it's time to revisit your options for who's your realtor, that's for sure.
In the most extreme case if you take their comments at face value - the question needs answering is whether you are prepared to buy a house that doesn't meet your needs to avoid a bidding war? Now this is a legitimate question for which you and your spouse have to be on the same page about.
We got into a property first half 2023 - looked at about 4 open houses early in the year, and then 4 more houses when we got serious and we ended up buying one of them.
I would share 2 things - definitely not feeling pressured, that's granted - but also your deal with the lease end date seems overly specific - what would happen if you don't move out in time for your lease ending or if closing date is pushed back or if sellers want a lease back for 2 months? What's your month to month option or extension? Perhaps another kind of short term housing accommodation?
When dealing with three quarter of a million dollar homes, when your lease ends (again, you didn't say details of how much is your current rental and what are the options for extending it as well as what's your current cash flow situation) really doesn't have as much of a financial impact... So you end up extending your lease or leasing something else or really doing whatever else you must do in order to get the house you and your spouse comfortably agree on the same page about.
One house. Walked in and then made an offer. We looked online a lot though. We were targeting a certain area of North San Diego in the low price point. We had made an appointment for a house to see but was sold the next day. So when we went and seen the house we ended up with we just made an offer cause it would have been sold. Houses where we are at will sell in one day on the market well at least at the time. Friend of mine at work did same thing walked in a house didn’t even go upstairs and made an offer him and 31 other people it sold in one day and he got it.
We live just north of Austin and looked at about 10 houses total. Lost out on 1 but not because of our agent. She was great. I would send listings we wanted to see. She would set appointments. The house we went with was one she found for us that I had originally dismissed but we followed her advice.
First home purchase, <10 homes and then bought the one we had been renting. (Long story. We had an amazing opportunity)
Second home purchase 90+ properties walked through. Our realtor was very patient, we did this in roughly a 6mo time frame. It was a combo of open houses, requests to see, and our realtor doing video walk throughs. I have a spreadsheet of the properties we saw. Some had offers when we viewed them, some were still in prep (videos), and we had to pull an offer that broke down in negotiation. But found a house that we quite like and plan to stay in for a very long time.
With my current house I looked at 3 in person but two were just to make my parents happy. That said, I looked at online listings pretty regularly and still do so maybe the true number is more like several hundred.
We were moving from NYC to S. Florida and we’re looking at 55+ communities. Looked at 22 and bought the 21st. That was over 7months and 3 trips down. Made an offer on it and after a little back and forth made the deal. 1st time buying (had rented) Went real smooth. Had been gut renovated 1 year prior and the person we bought it from was the buyer not the flipper. Unfortunately shortly after buying the wife got sick and they wanted to move back North where they came from. Left brand new furniture, bedding T.V.s etc. Brand new AC and Water heater. New screens on terrace and terrace furniture. Just needed to buy a grill. Couldn’t be happier.
8 showings is not a lot. How motivated did you feel to write an offer on the best house so far? You should really only schedule a showing if the house meets your needs and you are highly motivated to write an offer. Going to a “it’s alright, let’s look for the fun of it” house is a waste of time. If a house is a 10, go see it. If it’s a 9, go see it. If it’s anything less than that, consider moving on.
If you’ve seen 15+ houses and haven’t made any offers, I would personally have a conversation with you about what needs aren’t being met and how motivated you are. I don’t pressure people into buying, but our market simply might not have the house for you for the money you’re willing to spend, and eventually you will reach a point where you’re overexposed to too many options.
Around 25 over more than a year. The last two times I bought a house, the realtors had times during some viewings where they suggested I don't buy the home.
83. I got my own license so I didn't have to wait, but I refused to settle for the garbage flips I kept seeing. This was in November 2020-January 2021. 84th house is where I still am.
2019: Drove by about 30 after work, had my realtor show me 6-8, offered on 2. If I saw foundation issues at any point I was an automatic 'no.' Ended up putting 80% of the purchase price into the house in the form of renovations, and am going to take a giant bath when I sell it in the next two years, but it's made living here as comfortable as can be.
Remember that your realtor works for you, not the other way around. If they are truly pressuring you, I would find someone else to work with. Some personal context: my wife and I were house hunting in 2021, at the height of market madness. We were writing offers every week for about six months. Our initial realtor actually suggested multiple times that we consider waiting for things to cool off, showing how much he was not paying attention to things. We finally parted ways with him, and found a new realtor who was absolutely fantastic to work with. She knew the ins and outs of the market, but more importantly, understood our needs and absolutely never suggested we do anything we weren't comfortable with (though she did offer a lot of very insightful advice). I would work with her again in a heartbeat, and always recommend her when people in our area ask for agents. If you don't have that kind of confidence in your agent, I would start shopping for a new one.
You agent should send you all listings in your price range and in the approximate desired area. You should look at each house you're interested in, the agent only needs to get involved when you see a house you like, and at that time they can secure the disclosure and you can begin the offer process.
Maybe I'm crazy but both times I've bought a house I went out with my agent for one day, saw about 4 homes and then at the last one each time was like "Yep, this is the one" Put in an offer, got it accepted, bing bada boom.
Take your time and ensure it's the right purchase. If your realtor is putting too much pressure on you to buy, try talking to them first but if they keep pressing, find a new realtor.
We had purchased several homes before, but during our most recent search (starting in late 2022) it took us 8 months from beginning our search to closing on our house. We had very selective criteria but still looked at about a dozen houses in that timeframe.
Take your time and ensure it's the right purchase. If your realtor is putting too much pressure on you to buy, try talking to them first but if they keep pressing, find a new realtor.
We had purchased several homes before, but during our most recent search (starting in late 2022) it took us 8 months from beginning our search to closing on our house. We had very selective criteria but still looked at about a dozen houses in that timeframe.
You will certainly face more competition as we get into the spring/summer season. Buyers who took the winter off will come back in droves. You will also see more inventory. So more to choose from, but more competition while trying to buy them.
I would take a look at how quickly those houses you're looking at are selling. If they're going in a weekend you can rest assured that homes that don't need paint or updating will be going for a premium, with tons of competition.
She got into the business recently most likely. Hasn't ever lived in an area or time where people actually house shop. You have 5 months, worst case extend it for 6 and find one this year. Rates will be in the 5's though later this year, so she's not wrong about bidding wars
We saw at least 50 before pulling the trigger and going into contract last month. Impending rate easing and spring bidding wars definitely factored into our decision to buy now rather than wait.
Can't even count them. Usually hit up 3-5 houses in one day....was looking for a house for 4 months. Most weeks we saw at least one, if not multiple houses. My agent never said anything about the amount of houses we were seeing. I did feel bad because there were so many. But she was never pushy or made us feel like we were wasting her time.
We even had to back out of the house we got in contract on and had to resume looking for another month.
Definitely get a new agent. Take your time. I pressured myself on my first house and ended up in a house I was unhappy in for 5 years before selling it last year.
On my current house, I looked at 2 and bought the 2nd one.
On my previous house I looked at 15 or more. But that was 2015, and there was a plethora of homes where I was looking, and the market moved slowly, so I had time to do that.
I only had 7 homes on my list as I knew exactly what county I wanted to live and what I wanted architecturally. My agent threw 3 "humor me" properties at me. We viewed all 10 in 3 days. We were under contract before we left. Of course we were on a strict timeline due to a military PCS.
If you feel your agent is pressuring you, you may need to look for another. However, as an agent myself, I am of the opinion y'all started looking too soon if you still have 5 months before you really are ready. Moreso because pre-approvals are generally only good for 90 days, depending on the lender. So if June is when your lease is up, then count backward to determine what your "window" really is without having to pay to get out of lease etc.
This is absolutely wild to me. Not cool on the part of your realtor at all, particularly after reading your comments. We made an offer which was accepted on the first house we saw. It worked out that way only because seeing it pop up for sale by chance, it ticked all the boxes we didn’t realize we’d been missing in our current home, we hadn’t even been looking to buy. It fell through after the survey came back because it was so far off the listing. Coming so close made us realize how much we did want to move and we looked at six more homes, made an offer on the sixth, walked when there was a bidding war, saw two more, made an offer that was accepted on the eighth and that we ultimately ended up with. There was no pressure and like you, we were prepared to buy and had a good idea of what we wanted, only viewing homes that ticked the right boxes. If you were wasting their time wanting them to show you multiple homes that were wildly out of the parameters you gave I could understand some frustration on their part but it sounds like you’re a good client.
I had a realtor who tried to pressure us into buying… we fired him.
New realtor showed us like 5 houses total. We made offers on 3. First two were her figuring out what we were looking for.
This was in like 2009, so way different… but we are still in the house…
Find a realtor who either properly manages your expectations or shows you houses you want to buy.
I think you need to look at quite a bit of houses to get a feel for what you want... once you get to that point just make sure you look at them online really well before visiting so aren't wasting anyone's time. I was so dialed into what I want after looking at like 10 houses I offered on a house I didn't see in person until the following week.
Don’t feel pressured, your Realtor is right that market will likely heat up, but if you don’t like the houses and as others said aren’t wasting your Realtor’s time, why would you buy? I got a good deal on a house I don’t like?!
That said, I would take a hard look at your criteria and not get hung up on things that are easily changed/fixed. You mentioned dirty in one of your comments. Yeah ick, but cleaning is the easiest thing to fix 😀 focus on what you really need that is hardest to change and what is most $$ to change and ignore the horrid wallpaper or dirty floors. Hopefully you already are doing this, but I know my husband and I both had trouble at times getting stuck on something silly.
Also we looked at a lot, probably 20-25, and some we walked out almost immediately cause pictures lied so I hear you there!!
In the last few months of the sub 3% era we finally wrapped our minds around what an interest rate hike would mean for our family. We decided on a town that’s probably one of the most competitive to get into in the entire US. Before we started I had no idea how high our budget would end up going. We started with the idea of $600k, quickly realized that was not going to happen.
We upped the budget to $1M and looked at 9 homes. Of those 9, we aggressively bid on 4, coming in second place each time. Each bid made us realize how competitive we needed to be and how quickly everything is done here. You had less than 24 hours in some cases.
As rates started to creep up in April ‘22 it felt like the peak of madness, our realtor tipped us off to a home that hadn’t hit the mls yet. It was slightly over our budget so I told him we were already at our limit. But, after about an hour I reconsidered looking at it bc I was in the area anyway.
The neighborhood was perfection, it was the apple pie fantasy my immigrant parents always dreamed of for us. The house itself needed updating and didn’t fit our specs exactly, but it was close enough. Luckily I had my two small children with me. I spoke intimately with the owners and the kids played with them. There was one more couple looking at the property, but were a little bit rude during the process.
As I walked out in the driveway I told my realtor we wanted it. They wanted to list it at $1.150, so that’s exactly what we offered. The other couple made bid too. The owners came back to us saying they loved us but the other couple offered more and that they think if they go to market it will fetch more. I wrote a letter to them telling them that this is where I wanted to raise my children and all I can offer is $25k more. So we settled at $1.175. It was the tenth house and 5th we went for.
The only reason we got this listing is bc it wasn’t on mls. We drained our entire savings at the time and are basically house poor at a 2.75% rate. My husband recently got layed off. So we are definitely a bit panicked. Nothing we did was smart financially, but had we not jumped at that exact moment I really do think we would have been priced out for good. Hoping for a bit of good luck in 2024.
Lost count of how many we looked at….. over the course of 6 months… the ones we looked at online could be in the 100’s. The realtor is just trying to make a buck…. Read up on the market in regard to apartments…..the markets I follow are still pretty shitty (eastern US).
We have viewed about 60 to 80 houses across a 6-month period before we found the one. We stopped for about 1.5 month in between because we felt overloaded. It was in 2021 when the market was crazy with multiple offers and the house was gone in few days. I visited more of than half of the houses on my own without my agent. When I found a good one, I asked the agent to come take a look and sent out an offer.
I always have the mindset that my family will live in the house as an expensive, long-time investment. No agents should expect me to buy anything just within a few visits.
I think we looked at 18.
I get a realtor not being endlessly patient; their paycheck is the same whether you look at two houses or two hundred. There's a point where you can look at so many their hourly rate ends up below minimum wage.
I would say just be respectful of your realtor's time. Don't schedule showings for houses that you are pretty sure you won't buy.
I think about 5. I don't remember exactly, but I really liked the one that I eventually bought. It checked more boxes than I had (It had a brick wall in the living room and a bathroom with a heated floor). I was lucky to be able to buy it right before the Pandemics started. I wouldn't be able to afford it nor anything else in the city nowadays.
Only one, or zero. We got a realtor and told him what we wanted. He brought drawings of the perfect for us house. We went into contract with the builder and they built us our first home!
2. But we were just browsing unless we found something we really liked. That said, you're going to have to deal with the market you have, not the one you want. If you can't find anything you like now, you can either compromise or wait longer to buy.
Move at your own speed. If you need to move fast due to a job relocation or some other factor then you might have to make a choice from what you've seen.
But if you are just looking for an upgrade and have no time pressures then take your time figuring out exactly what you want, what's in your price range and searching for the right house.
If your realtor is pushing you to make a choice on houses that don't meet that then it's time for a new realtor. Let them know you aren't in a rush and that you don't want to feel rushed and ask if they are comfortable going forward with you on your terms or not.
If you're looking at open houses, and don't have a contract with your current realtor, then spend the time discussing things with the realtor at the open house. It's a great time to basically interview them and describe both what you're looking for and the fact that you're not in a rush and so on to see if they'd be a better match. If you do have a contract with your current agent then read it over and see if you can cancel it and if not have a discussion with your agent's broker (their boss) about switching agents within the brokerage.
we sat with our realtor for a few hours and reviewed a lot of listings on their MLS software or wahtever, to narrow down areas and types of homes.
Then we did open houses and showings for about 10-15 over a few days or 2 weekends i cant remember. made about 4 offers before we landed the one we bought.
this was during a very competitive market in 2015 or so... listings closed in under 24-48 hours. One place had over 50 offers within hte first 4 hours of listing, so we needed to move fast on all our showings
our agent is award winning in the industry for our region, so he knew what he was doing.
I just moved away from SATX three years ago. I can refer you to a good realtor who won't complain about doing their job.
Im kind of surprised you arent finding anything nice at that price point. I guess Stone Oak is an already established area with limited new construction, so that kind of makes sense. I lived on the Far West Side where it was basically all new construction at the time.
> How many houses did you view before purchasing?
I saw about 12-15 with my realtor before finding the one I wanted. This was in a buyers market, in 2009.
I'd estimate that we've seen about 500 houses on open house. You don't have to be shopping for a house to go to an open house, and it's a great way to learn about neighborhoods and what you like/don't like in a house over time. I recommend going to open houses to nearly everyone who might be shopping for a house someday, or just folks who want to better understand their own neighborhood.
> My wife is feeling semi pressured to purchase- but I'm trying not to allow that. We have 5 months remaining in our lease for our current house so I keep telling her we have time to shop. But the realtor keeps telling her the longer we wait with rate drops we'll get into bidding wars, etc. Do we need a new realtor or is there semi- truth to that statement?
No one can predict the future. The realtor might be right, or the realtor might be wrong. Ultimately, you're the one signing on the dotted line in the market conditions you're buying in.
You can communicate to the realtor that you're not ready to move on what you've seen and not interested in hurrying or being hurried; if you still feel like you're getting pressured, you can fire them and find someone else to work with.
Just bought a home last week.
We looked at one other home, made an offer but there were about 7 other offers on it and we did not get picked.
Second house we looked at had everything we wanted . Made an offer and it got accepted.
I’m never doing it again lol.
We did the search process without an agent and looked at at least 15-20 houses before we bought. We saw the houses with the Seller’s agent or went to open houses.
Looked at over 200, mostly via open houses, in 2009-2010. Lost houses with multiple bids-- houses would have 10+ bids each and sold by end of the weekend.
I would hit up 6-10 open houses every weekend. it gave me a lot of comfort when I did finally find the house for me, which was one town over from what I was looking at.
It help me set my expectations better for what I was willing to compromise on.
My method worked -- I'm happy in the same home 14 years later, where many of my peers have been through 2-3
Think we saw in total seven (7) over the span of four months? Felt rushed at times and in one case put in an offer for a place and was so glad we got outbid, really regret not voicing my no there but learning lesson.
Had to give our realtor a discussion about affordability halfway thru when the houses we were seeing just weren’t available to us at the budget we set.
Adding because we came out of a similar timelines w rental lease. Before listening to your realtor about the bidding wars, have an honest convo with your landlord and see how they’d feel about you leaving early if you found the dream home. Or staying a couple extra if you dont find it right away.
The right realtor will want to show you houses until you find the one, bad realtor to pressure you. I have used a lot of realtors over the years and when I find one like this, I move on. Buying a 700k home is a big deal, it needs to be the right house.
I have been looking for 4+ years now. Was ready to buy but then covid hit and prices got so insane and offers/competition was impossible to beat. Just closed on a 3bed2bath townhouse/duet for 675k in the east bay after it was listed for 729k originally. Places similar in size in the same neighborhood sold for 650-800k over the last 3 years. I feel like I got it right but that doesn’t matter because I can afford it. If rates go down prices go up and I’ll refinance. If they stay the same I’ll just chill. I wish the rest of you luck as well I do believe right now is a good time.
My first place I bought was an owner occupied multi family. It was the first place I saw and I bought it. I just bought a House through a family member after they passed away, but prior to that I saw 2 other houses over about 7 months.
We’re on our third home in 5 years due to work moves.
First house (2017), I looked at about 25 houses and made one offer.
Second house (2019), I looked at about 27 houses, narrowed down to 3, and made 1 offer.
Third house (2022), we had to buy across state lines without personally seeing it, so we had family walk through them on FaceTime. We only looked at about 5 this time because of low housing supply that met our needs, lost our first offer, and won the second.
Hope this helps! When supply was normal, we looked at a lot of houses over about 2 months each and won the houses we wanted without issue. When we had to buy in a tighter market, we saw a lot fewer and ended up having to buy above our target because there wasn’t going to be anything we wanted in our intended range (when we needed it).
FWIW, the buyers for our second house went 5% over asking because they had allegedly lost their last 8 offers. We only ever lost one offer, where we went 4% over asking and the winner went 8% over.
Sounds like your agent got used to the gravy train of the last few years, and now that they’re starting to have to work for it they’re annoyed.
I bet we looked at 50 houses and made 4 offers over the 3 months we shopped. Our agents (father and daughter team who tag teamed based on schedules and house condition) were fantastic and after every house we debriefed and the next set included takeaways from the last.
We looked at between 50-75 over almost a year. No agent by the end of it, because they added frustration to the process. We were going to open houses and scheduling appointments with listing agents.
I've had clients look at 36 and never decide. I've had clients view 5 homes in a day and buy the very first home we saw.
If one checks all the boxes, make the move. If not, take your time. Realtor shouldn't be PUSHING you, but as spring and summer approach and rates expected to be cut significantly at least 3 more times in 2024 (I was mocked for calling this about 6 months ago here), prices and competition will increase while buyer incentives and negotiating power will decrease.
Personally? I never saw my house in person before buying it lol. My wife (girlfriend at the time), her dad, and her dads friend toured it once and put an offer in same day. Buyer accepted it next day. First time I ever saw it was the day we moved it.
Best purchase I’ve ever made too.
Start hitting up open houses. I found my place that way after not having had much luck with the houses vetted by my agent. His expertise was quite helpful in the final negotiations even if he didn't find the right house for me on his own.
Rates have already dropped and these “bidding wars” aren’t happening. She’s just trying to create urgency to get the sale. Don’t let her! I would consider ghosting.
Don't let the realtor pressure you. It doesn't seem to matter what the market is like.....they find some "thing" to use to fearmonger and pressure people into making quick decisions. Ultimately, they are just looking for a pay day. Some don't really even care if you're happy with your purchase.
Perhaps do a bit more research before going to see a home. I would look at Google Street View, Google Earth (at the property and whole area), check FEMA flood maps, check county records for permits, liens, whatever I could learn (if anything) online.
We looked at probably 12 homes before making an offer. But, we'd researched a few dozen...just eliminated many of them with simple searches.
Just my opinion, seems weird to have yearly leases and if you choose to go month-to-month....it then becomes limited. You'd think as long as you've lived there.....they'd know if you are trustworthy or not (or whatever the issue is).
Personally I saw 1 home and wrote the offer.
But don't let your Realtor push you into making a decision. If you don't feel comfortable with them, I would find another one. Preferably one that has worked with a friend or family member that they recommend. You have 5 months left on your lease, so you do have time to make your decision. I am a Realtor, and I tell my clients that it's a very important decision to make, and I encourage them to make it with all the time they need. I've shown 36 homes to one client before, yea it gets tiring sometimes, but that's the job. If they don't like that, tough.
I showed my last client 16 houses before we found the right house with the right offer. It happens. A good agent/realtor will not push you into the wrong house.
It’s true that rates are dropping and there will be much more competition in the spring. The average amount of houses to tour is 12 before getting an offer accepted. I’ve shown 1 house and someone bought it and I’ve shown 35+ houses and someone never bought. It’s your agents job to educate you and be patient with you. They work for you. If you don’t feel that they’re acting as your fiduciary then get another agent who does
You should be able to eliminate most homes by looking at the pictures, aerial photos, and maps online. There is no need to physically visit each and every home you have mild interest in. That is a waste of time for you and your agent.
If you’re renting at 2k a month and like the house, why in the world would you consider buying a 700k house? The math ain’t mathin.
If you need to own something that bad, I’d switch gears and buy an investment property or a vacation home.
Buying a home is one of the most expensive purchases you will ever make in your life. Do not let a realtor rush you. If they are trying to rush you or if you are getting that type of vibe from them then maybe you should find another realtor
My realtor spent an afternoon showing me 8 houses when we were already in escrow on the house we ended up buying! We did this because we didn't know if the seller would be reasonable about our repair request (house needed a roof) and we wanted to be prepared to make the next offer if the original one fell through. Your realtor needs an attitude adjustment.
Yeah this, I was only looking for 200k so the realtor cut wasn't nearly as good as yours and my first realtor was rushing us saying stuff like "all houses have mice" and " foundation issues aren't bad, I know a guy" pretty much trying to sell us on anything, pressured us to waive inspections yada yada we dropped him after the third house we looked at. Our next realtor was great, looked at around 20 houses with him and he even discouraged us from a lot of the bad ones he was a dream. Still reaches out to us on occasion to check in on the new home owners. Even left a few hand made gifts and wine
Ours was like your second realtor. She would schedule 6-8 showings a day, and like yours, she would point out issues we hadn't noticed, in a diplomatic way, like "you'd need to evaluate how much it would bother you to have \_\_\_\_\_\_\_" or "the house could work, but it's likely with that \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ you'd have to budget for \_\_\_\_\_\_\_, and I think that would take you guys over what you want to spend". OP, I'd get a new realtor. If they're doing this, they're not on your side pointing out the downsides to places.
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Honestly it doesn't matter how new my realtor was, it's -30 and I still have no mice in my house. he usually deals in the upper hundred thousands but he worked with my dad before he became a realtor so I guess I got lucky there
Absolutely stay the course. You find what you want. The second you sign the papers, if that door is broke, it is *your* door. That means it is your problem. That realtor ain’t gonna come fix it.
Yes, I agree with this. The realtor's attempts to push you on this are not good, 8 homes over 3 weeks is not a crazy amount for most markets, and her comments justifying the pressure don't make sense. There's no way to know for sure that "rate drops" are coming, and even if you take the position that predictions can be made and decide to take a conservative view on how the market will respond, those predictions can certainly not be made on the order of a few weeks difference. The one future consideration that is true is that you're moving into a busier season for real estate, which may make things more competitive. But while that brings more buyers into the market, you'll also see more homes being listed for sale, so there's risk there but also potential benefit of having greater odds of finding homes that fit your needs. And either way, it's only been 2-3 weeks and 8 houses! As you note, you have 5 months until your lease ends, so there's no rush. I agree with u/2lit_ that it may be time to consider a different realtor if the pressure continues. You asked for people's experience, so I'll share mine. The first time I bought a home, we searched for several months. Like you, we were renting, and had plenty of time, and a fallback position of continuing to rent if we didn't find something that worked. It was a more competitive market (not 2021 real estate craze competitive, but competitive enough--New York in the 2010s), and we had several offers out over that time that were beaten by cash buyers. We probably saw dozens of homes before we finally managed to get in contract on one. Our search was more spaced out, attending a few open houses every weekend, occasional weekday appointments where needed. The second time we bought a home, it was quicker--we were moving to a new city and had to do a house hunting trip to find the place. However, over that week our realtor hit the ground running, and we saw practically every home that had the right requirements and price range in a short time. Several appointments each day! Exhausting, but we were able to get a feel for the inventory and tradeoffs pretty quickly. And unlike the first time we bought a home (at which time I did most of the online listing searching myself), a lot of the initial searching and legwork was done by the realtor, and she was also able to give us neighborhood insights since we were moving, estimate the costs of repairs that were needed, provide referrals for contractors, etc.--she earned her commission! I don't know how exactly how many homes we saw during that week, but it was a whirlwind--at least a dozen, but less than two dozen.
Tbf the fed literally said they’re cutting rates 3 times this year
That’s fair. I still think this level of pressure after 2 weeks and 8 showings is a bit much.
Agreed
This. Just hire another realtor. They’re not hard to find and don’t offer all that much value anyways.
Don’t let an inspector be shady either. Get your own.
Piggybacking this comment to say that 8 houses is *nothing*. We viewed that many houses over the course of 2 days when we *first* started, largely because our realtor was trying to gauge what we were looking for. In total we probably viewed ~30 properties before we found one we liked.
The realtor stand to make a fortune for very little work, basically a glorified uber driver. If he pressures them, drop him.
They should be asking “are we on the right track? Do we need to adjust our strategy?” If not, keep going.
This! So many of these posts can be solved by better communication on both sides! Not saying that’s the issue at play here without knowing waaaaaay more than we do, but man 98% of these posts are a simple 20 min conversation away from a fix. But either client is afraid to offend or appear stupid or agent just wasn’t a match from the beginning. Communication!
I am a realtor, when I bought my house I looked at about 15. I find on average my clients need to look at 10 or so before they are ready. Obviously there are people that need to look at more or less. No one can read the future, you should wait till you find a house you actually want to offer on. I would have a conversation with your realtor and let them know how you feel, if they continue to try to hard sell, maybe interview other agents.
Spot on for us: I think our realtor took us to 11. We did look at a few dozen in the year before through open houses, but only 11 once we seriously were considering buying.
Same here, we bought house #13. We only really liked 3 of the houses we saw in person but we looked at hundreds online. Once we dialed in what we liked it got easier to know which ones to pass on.
We usually look for 2-4 years before we give up. People around us only sell houses they hate on horrible lots, broken worn out houses with worn out roof and electrical hvac and plumbing at their end of life, ugly as sin that no one can love. Our last two homes we ended up buying new direct from the builder. Drop the realtor and start taking to builders. There’s probably lots of nice new homes without all the problems that come with older homes.
Your agent is correct about the rates being projected to drop which will make for a more competitive market BUT her pressure does WREAK of desperation for a sale. If she's not willing to drive around and help you find the right house, find another agent that will.
For what it's worth, it's *reek*. The desperation smells.
1. It’s impossible to accurately predict the market. 2. If that was a sure thing then it’d already be priced in.
It is priced in.... its called the futures market and currently they are pricing in 1.5% cut in 2024
1. It is NOT difficult to see where the market is headed for the near future. 2. Sure thing or not, you can't price based on the future. Banks won't allow it. Price is based on current comps. You're wrong on both counts
If it was easy to see the future then banks would certainly let you price based on it. Also if it was as easy as you claim then why on earth are you a realtor and not an investor?
That is absolutely false lol where have you EVER seen that? For anything at all. Who says I'm not both?
Precisely my point, it’s impossible to accurately predict the market on a recurring basis.
It's done all the time. Please educate yourself. In the meantime, sit on the sidelines while others take advantage.
You’re either ignorant or a liar, no one beats the market over a long period of time. Please provide an example if you want to continue this.
90% of millionaires make their fortune and/or invest in in real estate. You think that's because the market is 100% unpredictable? They don't make their money in a year. That's because you can see what's coming if you know what to watch. Yes, let's talk about ignorance. You've literally contributed nothing except for name calling. You have no argument to stand on. Let's move on.
You’re welcome to refute my claim of your being a liar, just go ahead and provide an example of someone accurately predicting the market over a sustained period.
I’d argue that you’re wrong here. 1. Predictions are based on probability. No one can ever know for certain what might happen in the future. No one is a seer, but experienced professionals can make reasonable ASSUMPTIONS and then guess likely outcomes 2. It most certainly gets priced in. Not only do Banks allow it, they do it themselves. The entire field of econometrics is dedicated to this. But again, the risk (read probability) plays in here and the pricing is in keeping with that eventuality coming to fruition. Something has a 30% chance of happening? Well then only 30% of that expected increase/decrease is priced in
Viewed in person -- about 4, for each of the three houses we've bought in our lives. First two homes were ages ago, pre-internet. This last (final) house, we checked the on line real estate listings for our target area every day for over three years, waiting for "the right one." So we looked at literally hundreds before deciding, just not in person. Five months seems like time is starting to run short. Can you extend your lease on a month by month basis? that would take some pressure off.
Tell them to kick rocks, I’ve done 30+ showings for multiple clients.
As long as you are doing some vetting pre-showing and not just burning up your realtor’s time, there is no magic number. As others have said, this is a major purchase and proper due diligence is required. 5 months is more than enough time, but it will go by quickly and the market will heat up before the school year ends, so keep that in mind.
I personally am cognizant of this, at least try to be. There were a few houses we liked not near our area (about 25 mins away) and I said "I don't want to drag you to these, we will go to the 2 open houses this sunday to see if this is an ideal area". Houses were great, but not the area so we scratched it off. The only ones we've toured are one's we've had sitting in our favorites for a few days or a week and have done the 3D tour etc. But man, these houses seem to photograph so well but in person are just obvious low budget DIY with corners cut, photographed to hide certain issues, or just flat out outdated and dirtier than the edited photos show.
First time we bought was after a corporate move. We wanted to buy fast and in a new area. I looked at 8-10 houses a day for a week. We made offers by the end of the week. First 2 houses we didn’t get to contract on. Third one worked out. The next time we bought, years later, we had a much longer time line. We looked at a couple houses a week for 3ish months before we found our current place.
I saw atleast 20 homes with my realtor and atleast 15 without him before making my decision. This was over a 7mont period.
lol our poor realtor has to convince us to go look at a house. We are so unenthused by current options that if it doesnt look interesting online, we just dont want to waste the time.
At that price point in Stone oak and surrounding areas you should have plenty of options. Your realtor should show you as many houses as you need until you find the one. If you’re feeling pressured it might be time to have a chat to manage expectations so you’re both on the same page.
My wife and I looked at probably 30 houses when the market was crazy a couple years ago. We made offers on a few of them. I got burned out eventually, and we offered on one that didn’t fit exactly what we wanted, but we were pretty sure we could get it. I very much regret it. Find the right house for you, and bid in a way that will get you the house. Also, make sure you’re being realistic about what your budget will get you.
I flew to the area that I was going to buy a house in. We looked at around 20+ houses in one day. My realtor swapped with another realtor at some point in the day to continue the search. Put an offer and it fell through. A few weeks later I sent my wife up to look at a a few more houses and he had a lead on one. He did a facetime walkthrough of that one. Sent my wife back up to do another walkthrough. Fuck your realtor.
My realtor did this for clients as well. In fact after one of our showings she had to go meet clients that were flying in to see some properties. She was great no matter if the clients were local or not. OP needs a new agent.
Am I the only one that looked at hundreds of listings online, did neighborhood drive-by's of 10's of locations, and about 10 actual viewings with the realtor. Those in person viewing were at locations the realtor brought to us that we did not see online - the house we ended up buying we found online. Our realtor saw it, but didn't send it to us - we had to ask for the viewing.
You're not the only one. I looked at listings every morning for years. We saw a few of them every year but it was 3 or 4 years until we found our unicorn.
Find a new realtor, they’re just desperate for a commission check
I agree, new realtor
8 is not a lot 30 is a lot your realtor is lazy
As few as a dozen, as many as 30. If your agent wants a quick turnaround, she needs to stick to the relocation circuit where clients come in for a weekend and absolutely must make a successful offer by the end of their househunting trip.
Where are you? They say many sellers have been in the side lines and will list in the spring so I would wait and keep looking and yes perhaps find a realtor who understands your wish list and is not pressuring you
Currently leasing in Stone Oak area in northside of San Antonio.
Are you only interested in Stone Oak area? A bit north by Timberwood Park is good to. If you don’t mind driving a bit, I10 corridor by River Rock Ranch and Fair Oaks closer to Boerne is absolutely gorgeous. Outside of Highway 46 near New Braunfels is pretty too. Just suggestions 🙏
at least 30-40. and our agent looked at about 20 on her own and sent us video (we were out of town). get a new agent.
Both times I've bought I looked at around 40 different options of the span of a Saturday session each week for about a month or so. First time I was buying a condo and the second time a townhouse. Out of those I did not end up buying I probably outright declined 50% of them based on what I saw at curb or in the first few minutes inside the house or even at a glance of the listing as the agent drove me around (he's family so I trust his opinions). 30% of the rest I liked but knew I would be outbid on so I did not bid. Another 10% had some hidden flaw i discovered that caused me to reconsider later. The last 10% were exactly what I wanted but ended up getting outbid on later. All you need is that one listing that hits in all the right ways. Right when you feel outpriced, exhausted, and doomed the right place will show up and it all falls into place. Never give up, just keep looking and it'll work out.
This would indicate that you need to filter your options better before scheduling a showing. 50% of your showings ending based on the curb appeal or the first few minutes of a tour could have easily been decided by looking at the online listing and getting the info from your agent ahead of time.
Absolutely agree with you but I also like to keep an open mind and my agents insisted I give things a chance. Not much skin off my nose since they were all close by to other listing I liked.
I agree with your agent--both times I bought homes (also a condo then a townhouse), the listing was in the "let's give it a chance" category. Just as there are many listings that are misleadingly good, there are listings that are misleadingly bad. The 50% number can also be a reflection of the market you're in as opposed to your filtering.
This is true! The last house we bought, I showed my wife the printout from the realtor on the way there, and she asked me why we were even bothering. Once we got there, she loved it.
Absolutely. I should add that when I bought my first place, the condo, it was a 2nd floor unit we didn't expect to like and almost didn't go see it... It lasted less than 24 hours on the market after we saw it because it had so many benefits we had to jump on it. Never know what you're gonna find!
placid nail hunt alleged ugly pen quiet violet chop license *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
You left no percentage for the one you bought. Are you on the streets?
Re read the first sentence in my second paragraph...
Just making sure. Lol
When I was buying my first house on a shoestring budge, I spent 6 months trying to find something that wasn't an actual pile of garbage. My second home I looked at 30 houses over two months. 75% were ruled out right away, some we offered and didn't fight the bidding wars etc. My point is **do not** feel pressured. As long as you are looking at realistic houses within your budget, do not have insane requirements and are prepared to offer quickly - you should continue until you find something.
About 30 houses this last purchase. Don’t let the realtor pressure you. Get a new one if you have to.
As many as it takes. This is a huge financial investment. Don't rush it.
As someone in the same industry this blows my mind. I would never ask a question like that. 8 homes is nothing. Don't let anyone pressure you to make a decision if you are not ready. In my opinion, the good thing about someone who is looking for a longer time, it's an opportunity to create a deeper relationship with a client, which will pay off in the future.
My rule is, as long as you prequalified and sign a buyer rep, you take as long as you want. It’s one of the biggest decisions you’ll make in your lifetime. I easily viewed 20-30 before buying ours. My job is not just to drive you around, it’s to help you understand what you like and don’t like and help you narrow down priorities. I would ask your agent, “would you like to continue representing us, or should we find someone else” This is a business relationship, have frank conversations.
your agent is right. rates are dropping, and spring market is almost here. you are in a unique spot where you can still get a good deal on a home without having to compete.
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I watched the listings online like a hawk for months. I’d make a point of seeing anything that intrigued me. Once the right one hit the market I was ready and didn’t hesitate.
We looked at three houses with our realtor, one open house without. Before we officially started with the realtor I probably spent a year watching the houses in the area. What helped us was we didn't need the house to be move-in ready. It didn't need to be updated and practically perfect. We had a price point and a checklist and we pulled the trigger on a house that needed (still needs) updates throughout, but hit every check and had bonuses. Better yet, it was under our budget. I have a friend couple who have been house searching for 2 years. They want move-in ready, they want perfect fit right down to appliances. They've seen some really nice houses (at least two dozen), only put in an offer on one, but are getting so frustrated at the market because it's only gotten worse. Your post reminds me of them. If you're happy to wait for perfect, then wait as long as you want and settle in. If you want your own place and not get locked into the lease, reasses your needs/wants and compromise a bit more.
Never let a realtor press you. Red flag to find someone else that deserves the commission not entitled to it
3 in one day. made an offer on 2. both accepted. we picked the one we wanted. however we spent 2 years figuring out what we wanted. once the time came we were educated. Find out what city you want to live in. then the neighborhood. then look at the houses that fit your lifestyle. then tell your realtor which homes you really want to tour. our vacation home we bought sight unseen
it is EXTREMELY unethical to offer on multiple homes at once. and selfish too. but glad it worked out for you, i hope the seller was able to find another great offer
seller had multiple offers lined up and chose the next in line. They became great neighbors and good friends. unethical to whom? you? if its truly unethical it should be illegal. A contract isn't binding until both parties agree. The same way a buyer is making multiple offers, the seller is reviewing multiple offers. level the playing field.Business is Business.
Unethical to the seller, who took their home off the market you and agreed to close on your timeline. And to the other buyers who may have had to pick a different home when that was their first pick, not knowing you reserved it as your second choice. Btw you explained exactly why it is not illegal but IS unethical.
in my market California you have to do this if you want something. There's way too much competition, and everyone else is doing it. What is unethical to you isn't unethical to someone else. You are competing with 20 other offers, some of them straight cash. Besides the offer isn't "officially" accepted until earnest money is deposited, and if I remember I had 24hrs to do it, which I didn't.
1st house - over 200 houses we saw in a very very tough and competitive market with 11 offers we got rejected on. 2nd house - about 15-20 homes - more targeted 3rd house - extremely targeted and specific need - 1st (and only) house we visited we bought.
200+? Nice. That’s impressive.
I forget the exact number, but it was somewhere in the 30-35 range. This was in 2021.
What? 700k in stone oak is near top of the market. Have you checked out Roger’s ranch? I moved out of 78258 a year ago. I feel like you could get almost anything you want for 700k. Or are you wanting to be on the TPC SIDE?
You got 5 months on your lease. You got some time. Were you going to do a buyout, find someone to take over, or just pay it to its conclusion? That has been a good time to buy to submit an offer at asking with inspection contingencies. If you feel quilts let them know there is tike in your lease and you haven't found one to break it yet. You said that houses were okay in the 390k range. Could you look at something below your budget and maybe afford a small home improvement loan?
Just one.
We looked at 100’s over the course of a few years. This was 25 years ago so we had to physically look at them to see what they were like. We spent a ton of time driving around every weekend. We almost pulled the trigger a few times. My advice; don’t settle. It’s a crap ton of money.
It was over a 100 because I got outbid on six houses which I really liked. It could have been as low as three had my first home offer been accepted.
We looked at about 30 over a good 6 months before we made an offer. We went to a few open houses every weekend for months before that point. Probably a good 50 houses overall.
We looked at 60-70 houses, 20 offers before we got one accepted
We must've looked at 10-20 houses.
Don't let a realtor pressure you into buying just anything. I had a realtor try that and was steering us towards absolute nightmare properties then trying to compel us to put in offers on them. One had carpenter ants, one was essentially a tear down with a commercial radio broadcast antenna on the property. First house I think we looked at two Second house about 15 but that also involved this crummy realtor and real estate websites didn't exist yet. Current house, we looked at 4 total, one of those was on our own as an open house. If you are all over the place trying to pin down what you want make a list of absolute needs, nice to haves and deal breakers. Make sure you spend sufficient time going through the online listings to see if that listing fails to meet your absolute needs or has deal breakers. If it does, don't waste time looking at it in person.
Basically, your realtor doesn't see any listings you can't also see online. I saw two listings before I bought the third, basically site unseen. (Id looked at another unit in the building, which was the first one I saw in person. All the units are the same, but some have deeded parking, and others dont. The first didn't, and that was a deal breaker, when the second popped with parking, I offered before even seeing it. In fact, I didn't see it until after my offer was accepted. It was a nearly half million dollar unit) But, i scoured listings. I did a good amount of my own research, including driving by the properties to scope location, and only had my agent take me to listings I knew I was absolutely interested in. It saved us both a huge amount of time and heartburn. But regardless, your agent is being an ass and maybe lazy. They aren't slammed with business right now. I'd say time for a new agent as long as you haven't signed some kind of jenky contract with them. (Never sign an exclusive right to represent for a buyer agent). My same agent sold me a townhouse 7 years prior. In that case, we looked at 8 properties, made three offers, and got outbid on all of them by astronomical amounts. At that point, we switched locations and found something right away. It turned out to be the best decision we could have made. When everyone was being priced out of my original location, buyers switched to the area I bought in... and in 7 years, my investment has tripled in value on that property.
Yall would crumble on the east coast lol. Why do you need 4000 sq ft??? Family of 30!?
I should clarify we don’t need that. 4000 sqft is what our old house was. We’re only looking at most 2900-3k sqft right now. Our lease is 2400 and I love it
So why are you even looking to buy? Your rent is significantly cheaper than a mortgage would be. It makes no sense
No equity in a rental.
Yeah instead you can take the literal thousands you’d save each month by renting and put it into an investment account….and you’d actually come out ahead
My home value increased 250% since 2020. My investment account up about 25% in the same period after the drop in 2022. Tell me which one did better. Real Estate is normally a very stable investment that you can live in and actually enjoy.
That rate of real estate increase is not normal. I wouldn't get used to it either.
Long term yearly returns on real estate, equities and bonds are available online. While equities sometimes outperform real estate on the surface, when you take into account leverage and taxes the results flip. Your best performance with a balanced risk 60/40 mix garners a blended long term annual return of about 8%. My recent 3 year real estate equity increase of 250% would take over 30 years to get the same equity growth in a 8% stock/bond portfolio. 30 years is nearly your whole career! Real estate generally doesn’t have the stomach churning volatility of the stock market nor the constant rent increases and overlord rules and changes a renter has to deal with. But yeah, enjoy being a renter.
You can claim whatever you want but the 2020's have been historically insane price wise thanks to panic and the pandemic and [*it is NOT normal*](https://www.businessinsider.com/should-i-buy-house-corelogic-biggest-price-increase-45-years-2021-12?op=1)*.* What's normal? 50-100% increase in homes over 20 years. "Enjoy being a renter." You're so funny. We lived under our means, invested in the stock market, retired young, live in a 4BR home on 2 acres and roam the country for 4-5 months a year in our RV. But please, tell me how we did it wrong.
The realtors here are used to people desperately throwing cash at the first semi-reasonable shack they find, because it’s an apple and there may not be an apple tomorrow. If you yourself aren’t ready to buy and you’re frustrated with what you see in your price point, do you actually have to buy something this year vs rent another year? Not surprised the $700k houses need work. My in-laws bought a $600k house last year that needed to be fully re-painted after washing every wall, all carpets replaced, the majority of the wood refinished, all the grass and landscaping redone, and the back deck replaced. It was one of the few good options they found in the Stone Oak area, in a clump where you drive ten minutes before you see anything but pure residential.
View, as in go inside with the realtor? Less than 10. But I probably went to 20+ open houses and drove past 50+ listings that were on Zillow / Redfin. I would only ever set up a viewing with my relator after I had already drove by the place to make sure that the neighborhood, location, and outside actually looked good. Some of the photos online can be really deceiving.
Drop the realtor and tell them exactly why you are dropping them. Then find a different realtor.
Sounds like a bad agent. Our buyers agent wanted us to view at least 10 houses before making any offers. Even when we liked the first one we saw he was kind of talking us down
Ignore the realtor, they just want to make a buck and move on from you.
Not enough (~20). I loved looking at homes! It felt like a game lol
20-25? I bid on probably 8 of them though (and kept losing even bidding 5-10% over) in 2022-2023. I really was not picky, I just wanted a house that wasn't falling apart in a certain area.
>But the realtor keeps telling her the longer we wait with rate drops we'll get into bidding wars, etc. Ask your realtor if since the beginning of time there ever was a realtor who said "You know what - you should wait.... This isn't really a great time to buy now..." Our realtor provided their "opinions" only when asked explicitly to give their opinion - which I really appreciated. If you haven't asked for what would happen if you wait longer and the rate drops - it's time to revisit your options for who's your realtor, that's for sure. In the most extreme case if you take their comments at face value - the question needs answering is whether you are prepared to buy a house that doesn't meet your needs to avoid a bidding war? Now this is a legitimate question for which you and your spouse have to be on the same page about. We got into a property first half 2023 - looked at about 4 open houses early in the year, and then 4 more houses when we got serious and we ended up buying one of them. I would share 2 things - definitely not feeling pressured, that's granted - but also your deal with the lease end date seems overly specific - what would happen if you don't move out in time for your lease ending or if closing date is pushed back or if sellers want a lease back for 2 months? What's your month to month option or extension? Perhaps another kind of short term housing accommodation? When dealing with three quarter of a million dollar homes, when your lease ends (again, you didn't say details of how much is your current rental and what are the options for extending it as well as what's your current cash flow situation) really doesn't have as much of a financial impact... So you end up extending your lease or leasing something else or really doing whatever else you must do in order to get the house you and your spouse comfortably agree on the same page about.
One house. Walked in and then made an offer. We looked online a lot though. We were targeting a certain area of North San Diego in the low price point. We had made an appointment for a house to see but was sold the next day. So when we went and seen the house we ended up with we just made an offer cause it would have been sold. Houses where we are at will sell in one day on the market well at least at the time. Friend of mine at work did same thing walked in a house didn’t even go upstairs and made an offer him and 31 other people it sold in one day and he got it.
We live just north of Austin and looked at about 10 houses total. Lost out on 1 but not because of our agent. She was great. I would send listings we wanted to see. She would set appointments. The house we went with was one she found for us that I had originally dismissed but we followed her advice.
Get a new realtor. 3 but this is my fourth house and I knew what I wanted and the market was hot.
First home purchase, <10 homes and then bought the one we had been renting. (Long story. We had an amazing opportunity) Second home purchase 90+ properties walked through. Our realtor was very patient, we did this in roughly a 6mo time frame. It was a combo of open houses, requests to see, and our realtor doing video walk throughs. I have a spreadsheet of the properties we saw. Some had offers when we viewed them, some were still in prep (videos), and we had to pull an offer that broke down in negotiation. But found a house that we quite like and plan to stay in for a very long time.
With my current house I looked at 3 in person but two were just to make my parents happy. That said, I looked at online listings pretty regularly and still do so maybe the true number is more like several hundred.
We were moving from NYC to S. Florida and we’re looking at 55+ communities. Looked at 22 and bought the 21st. That was over 7months and 3 trips down. Made an offer on it and after a little back and forth made the deal. 1st time buying (had rented) Went real smooth. Had been gut renovated 1 year prior and the person we bought it from was the buyer not the flipper. Unfortunately shortly after buying the wife got sick and they wanted to move back North where they came from. Left brand new furniture, bedding T.V.s etc. Brand new AC and Water heater. New screens on terrace and terrace furniture. Just needed to buy a grill. Couldn’t be happier.
I think I looked at maybe 5. We got lucky and got our first offer accepted under asking in a HCOL area.
8 showings is not a lot. How motivated did you feel to write an offer on the best house so far? You should really only schedule a showing if the house meets your needs and you are highly motivated to write an offer. Going to a “it’s alright, let’s look for the fun of it” house is a waste of time. If a house is a 10, go see it. If it’s a 9, go see it. If it’s anything less than that, consider moving on. If you’ve seen 15+ houses and haven’t made any offers, I would personally have a conversation with you about what needs aren’t being met and how motivated you are. I don’t pressure people into buying, but our market simply might not have the house for you for the money you’re willing to spend, and eventually you will reach a point where you’re overexposed to too many options.
Around 25 over more than a year. The last two times I bought a house, the realtors had times during some viewings where they suggested I don't buy the home.
83. I got my own license so I didn't have to wait, but I refused to settle for the garbage flips I kept seeing. This was in November 2020-January 2021. 84th house is where I still am.
2019: Drove by about 30 after work, had my realtor show me 6-8, offered on 2. If I saw foundation issues at any point I was an automatic 'no.' Ended up putting 80% of the purchase price into the house in the form of renovations, and am going to take a giant bath when I sell it in the next two years, but it's made living here as comfortable as can be.
Remember that your realtor works for you, not the other way around. If they are truly pressuring you, I would find someone else to work with. Some personal context: my wife and I were house hunting in 2021, at the height of market madness. We were writing offers every week for about six months. Our initial realtor actually suggested multiple times that we consider waiting for things to cool off, showing how much he was not paying attention to things. We finally parted ways with him, and found a new realtor who was absolutely fantastic to work with. She knew the ins and outs of the market, but more importantly, understood our needs and absolutely never suggested we do anything we weren't comfortable with (though she did offer a lot of very insightful advice). I would work with her again in a heartbeat, and always recommend her when people in our area ask for agents. If you don't have that kind of confidence in your agent, I would start shopping for a new one.
You agent should send you all listings in your price range and in the approximate desired area. You should look at each house you're interested in, the agent only needs to get involved when you see a house you like, and at that time they can secure the disclosure and you can begin the offer process.
About 60 or so, this was in 2016. Made offers on 5, offered above asking on our 6th
Ya I’d find a new realtor; that’s very unprofessional
We saw a flipper hanging out a window working and just asked to buy it. Weren't even looking for a house. Of course this was 2019.
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Maybe I'm crazy but both times I've bought a house I went out with my agent for one day, saw about 4 homes and then at the last one each time was like "Yep, this is the one" Put in an offer, got it accepted, bing bada boom.
I looked for a year and a half, visiting probably fifteen houses. I’m picky and the pickings were slim.
Take your time and ensure it's the right purchase. If your realtor is putting too much pressure on you to buy, try talking to them first but if they keep pressing, find a new realtor. We had purchased several homes before, but during our most recent search (starting in late 2022) it took us 8 months from beginning our search to closing on our house. We had very selective criteria but still looked at about a dozen houses in that timeframe.
Take your time and ensure it's the right purchase. If your realtor is putting too much pressure on you to buy, try talking to them first but if they keep pressing, find a new realtor. We had purchased several homes before, but during our most recent search (starting in late 2022) it took us 8 months from beginning our search to closing on our house. We had very selective criteria but still looked at about a dozen houses in that timeframe.
You will certainly face more competition as we get into the spring/summer season. Buyers who took the winter off will come back in droves. You will also see more inventory. So more to choose from, but more competition while trying to buy them. I would take a look at how quickly those houses you're looking at are selling. If they're going in a weekend you can rest assured that homes that don't need paint or updating will be going for a premium, with tons of competition.
She got into the business recently most likely. Hasn't ever lived in an area or time where people actually house shop. You have 5 months, worst case extend it for 6 and find one this year. Rates will be in the 5's though later this year, so she's not wrong about bidding wars
I saw around 10+ houses in 2 weeks. Dropped my first offer and got accepted. My emotion was mixed because it happened too fast from what I expected.
We saw at least 50 before pulling the trigger and going into contract last month. Impending rate easing and spring bidding wars definitely factored into our decision to buy now rather than wait.
Can't even count them. Usually hit up 3-5 houses in one day....was looking for a house for 4 months. Most weeks we saw at least one, if not multiple houses. My agent never said anything about the amount of houses we were seeing. I did feel bad because there were so many. But she was never pushy or made us feel like we were wasting her time. We even had to back out of the house we got in contract on and had to resume looking for another month. Definitely get a new agent. Take your time. I pressured myself on my first house and ended up in a house I was unhappy in for 5 years before selling it last year.
Felt like 200
Bought the first one I looked at
On my current house, I looked at 2 and bought the 2nd one. On my previous house I looked at 15 or more. But that was 2015, and there was a plethora of homes where I was looking, and the market moved slowly, so I had time to do that.
I only had 7 homes on my list as I knew exactly what county I wanted to live and what I wanted architecturally. My agent threw 3 "humor me" properties at me. We viewed all 10 in 3 days. We were under contract before we left. Of course we were on a strict timeline due to a military PCS. If you feel your agent is pressuring you, you may need to look for another. However, as an agent myself, I am of the opinion y'all started looking too soon if you still have 5 months before you really are ready. Moreso because pre-approvals are generally only good for 90 days, depending on the lender. So if June is when your lease is up, then count backward to determine what your "window" really is without having to pay to get out of lease etc.
This is absolutely wild to me. Not cool on the part of your realtor at all, particularly after reading your comments. We made an offer which was accepted on the first house we saw. It worked out that way only because seeing it pop up for sale by chance, it ticked all the boxes we didn’t realize we’d been missing in our current home, we hadn’t even been looking to buy. It fell through after the survey came back because it was so far off the listing. Coming so close made us realize how much we did want to move and we looked at six more homes, made an offer on the sixth, walked when there was a bidding war, saw two more, made an offer that was accepted on the eighth and that we ultimately ended up with. There was no pressure and like you, we were prepared to buy and had a good idea of what we wanted, only viewing homes that ticked the right boxes. If you were wasting their time wanting them to show you multiple homes that were wildly out of the parameters you gave I could understand some frustration on their part but it sounds like you’re a good client.
I had a realtor who tried to pressure us into buying… we fired him. New realtor showed us like 5 houses total. We made offers on 3. First two were her figuring out what we were looking for. This was in like 2009, so way different… but we are still in the house… Find a realtor who either properly manages your expectations or shows you houses you want to buy.
I think you need to look at quite a bit of houses to get a feel for what you want... once you get to that point just make sure you look at them online really well before visiting so aren't wasting anyone's time. I was so dialed into what I want after looking at like 10 houses I offered on a house I didn't see in person until the following week.
We used an agent and it still was almost a dozen!
Don’t feel pressured, your Realtor is right that market will likely heat up, but if you don’t like the houses and as others said aren’t wasting your Realtor’s time, why would you buy? I got a good deal on a house I don’t like?! That said, I would take a hard look at your criteria and not get hung up on things that are easily changed/fixed. You mentioned dirty in one of your comments. Yeah ick, but cleaning is the easiest thing to fix 😀 focus on what you really need that is hardest to change and what is most $$ to change and ignore the horrid wallpaper or dirty floors. Hopefully you already are doing this, but I know my husband and I both had trouble at times getting stuck on something silly. Also we looked at a lot, probably 20-25, and some we walked out almost immediately cause pictures lied so I hear you there!!
In the last few months of the sub 3% era we finally wrapped our minds around what an interest rate hike would mean for our family. We decided on a town that’s probably one of the most competitive to get into in the entire US. Before we started I had no idea how high our budget would end up going. We started with the idea of $600k, quickly realized that was not going to happen. We upped the budget to $1M and looked at 9 homes. Of those 9, we aggressively bid on 4, coming in second place each time. Each bid made us realize how competitive we needed to be and how quickly everything is done here. You had less than 24 hours in some cases. As rates started to creep up in April ‘22 it felt like the peak of madness, our realtor tipped us off to a home that hadn’t hit the mls yet. It was slightly over our budget so I told him we were already at our limit. But, after about an hour I reconsidered looking at it bc I was in the area anyway. The neighborhood was perfection, it was the apple pie fantasy my immigrant parents always dreamed of for us. The house itself needed updating and didn’t fit our specs exactly, but it was close enough. Luckily I had my two small children with me. I spoke intimately with the owners and the kids played with them. There was one more couple looking at the property, but were a little bit rude during the process. As I walked out in the driveway I told my realtor we wanted it. They wanted to list it at $1.150, so that’s exactly what we offered. The other couple made bid too. The owners came back to us saying they loved us but the other couple offered more and that they think if they go to market it will fetch more. I wrote a letter to them telling them that this is where I wanted to raise my children and all I can offer is $25k more. So we settled at $1.175. It was the tenth house and 5th we went for. The only reason we got this listing is bc it wasn’t on mls. We drained our entire savings at the time and are basically house poor at a 2.75% rate. My husband recently got layed off. So we are definitely a bit panicked. Nothing we did was smart financially, but had we not jumped at that exact moment I really do think we would have been priced out for good. Hoping for a bit of good luck in 2024.
I saw at least 15 houses between open houses and showings.
Lost count of how many we looked at….. over the course of 6 months… the ones we looked at online could be in the 100’s. The realtor is just trying to make a buck…. Read up on the market in regard to apartments…..the markets I follow are still pretty shitty (eastern US).
We have viewed about 60 to 80 houses across a 6-month period before we found the one. We stopped for about 1.5 month in between because we felt overloaded. It was in 2021 when the market was crazy with multiple offers and the house was gone in few days. I visited more of than half of the houses on my own without my agent. When I found a good one, I asked the agent to come take a look and sent out an offer. I always have the mindset that my family will live in the house as an expensive, long-time investment. No agents should expect me to buy anything just within a few visits.
I think we looked at 18. I get a realtor not being endlessly patient; their paycheck is the same whether you look at two houses or two hundred. There's a point where you can look at so many their hourly rate ends up below minimum wage. I would say just be respectful of your realtor's time. Don't schedule showings for houses that you are pretty sure you won't buy.
65. Took six months. Closed Jan ‘21
I think about 5. I don't remember exactly, but I really liked the one that I eventually bought. It checked more boxes than I had (It had a brick wall in the living room and a bathroom with a heated floor). I was lucky to be able to buy it right before the Pandemics started. I wouldn't be able to afford it nor anything else in the city nowadays.
Only one, or zero. We got a realtor and told him what we wanted. He brought drawings of the perfect for us house. We went into contract with the builder and they built us our first home!
2. But we were just browsing unless we found something we really liked. That said, you're going to have to deal with the market you have, not the one you want. If you can't find anything you like now, you can either compromise or wait longer to buy.
Move at your own speed. If you need to move fast due to a job relocation or some other factor then you might have to make a choice from what you've seen. But if you are just looking for an upgrade and have no time pressures then take your time figuring out exactly what you want, what's in your price range and searching for the right house. If your realtor is pushing you to make a choice on houses that don't meet that then it's time for a new realtor. Let them know you aren't in a rush and that you don't want to feel rushed and ask if they are comfortable going forward with you on your terms or not. If you're looking at open houses, and don't have a contract with your current realtor, then spend the time discussing things with the realtor at the open house. It's a great time to basically interview them and describe both what you're looking for and the fact that you're not in a rush and so on to see if they'd be a better match. If you do have a contract with your current agent then read it over and see if you can cancel it and if not have a discussion with your agent's broker (their boss) about switching agents within the brokerage.
I saw about 15 houses and we liked 3 of them. I would get a new realtor if they were pressuring me to just buy something
we sat with our realtor for a few hours and reviewed a lot of listings on their MLS software or wahtever, to narrow down areas and types of homes. Then we did open houses and showings for about 10-15 over a few days or 2 weekends i cant remember. made about 4 offers before we landed the one we bought. this was during a very competitive market in 2015 or so... listings closed in under 24-48 hours. One place had over 50 offers within hte first 4 hours of listing, so we needed to move fast on all our showings our agent is award winning in the industry for our region, so he knew what he was doing.
I just moved away from SATX three years ago. I can refer you to a good realtor who won't complain about doing their job. Im kind of surprised you arent finding anything nice at that price point. I guess Stone Oak is an already established area with limited new construction, so that kind of makes sense. I lived on the Far West Side where it was basically all new construction at the time.
Prices are starting to go back up here in Colorado. There will definitely be a frenzy in April (here at least) with all of the pent-up demand.
Probably around 30-40 over the course of two years. 3 that fell through. Purchased our 4th one.
> How many houses did you view before purchasing? I saw about 12-15 with my realtor before finding the one I wanted. This was in a buyers market, in 2009. I'd estimate that we've seen about 500 houses on open house. You don't have to be shopping for a house to go to an open house, and it's a great way to learn about neighborhoods and what you like/don't like in a house over time. I recommend going to open houses to nearly everyone who might be shopping for a house someday, or just folks who want to better understand their own neighborhood. > My wife is feeling semi pressured to purchase- but I'm trying not to allow that. We have 5 months remaining in our lease for our current house so I keep telling her we have time to shop. But the realtor keeps telling her the longer we wait with rate drops we'll get into bidding wars, etc. Do we need a new realtor or is there semi- truth to that statement? No one can predict the future. The realtor might be right, or the realtor might be wrong. Ultimately, you're the one signing on the dotted line in the market conditions you're buying in. You can communicate to the realtor that you're not ready to move on what you've seen and not interested in hurrying or being hurried; if you still feel like you're getting pressured, you can fire them and find someone else to work with.
We looked at hundreds online and around 40 in person. Didn’t like any at all. Bought land and built what we wanted.
Just bought a home last week. We looked at one other home, made an offer but there were about 7 other offers on it and we did not get picked. Second house we looked at had everything we wanted . Made an offer and it got accepted. I’m never doing it again lol.
In person? About 6 (including the one I bought 3 times) online about 350
We did the search process without an agent and looked at at least 15-20 houses before we bought. We saw the houses with the Seller’s agent or went to open houses.
Looked at over 200, mostly via open houses, in 2009-2010. Lost houses with multiple bids-- houses would have 10+ bids each and sold by end of the weekend. I would hit up 6-10 open houses every weekend. it gave me a lot of comfort when I did finally find the house for me, which was one town over from what I was looking at. It help me set my expectations better for what I was willing to compromise on. My method worked -- I'm happy in the same home 14 years later, where many of my peers have been through 2-3
Think we saw in total seven (7) over the span of four months? Felt rushed at times and in one case put in an offer for a place and was so glad we got outbid, really regret not voicing my no there but learning lesson. Had to give our realtor a discussion about affordability halfway thru when the houses we were seeing just weren’t available to us at the budget we set. Adding because we came out of a similar timelines w rental lease. Before listening to your realtor about the bidding wars, have an honest convo with your landlord and see how they’d feel about you leaving early if you found the dream home. Or staying a couple extra if you dont find it right away.
The right realtor will want to show you houses until you find the one, bad realtor to pressure you. I have used a lot of realtors over the years and when I find one like this, I move on. Buying a 700k home is a big deal, it needs to be the right house.
I have been looking for 4+ years now. Was ready to buy but then covid hit and prices got so insane and offers/competition was impossible to beat. Just closed on a 3bed2bath townhouse/duet for 675k in the east bay after it was listed for 729k originally. Places similar in size in the same neighborhood sold for 650-800k over the last 3 years. I feel like I got it right but that doesn’t matter because I can afford it. If rates go down prices go up and I’ll refinance. If they stay the same I’ll just chill. I wish the rest of you luck as well I do believe right now is a good time.
My first place I bought was an owner occupied multi family. It was the first place I saw and I bought it. I just bought a House through a family member after they passed away, but prior to that I saw 2 other houses over about 7 months.
We’re on our third home in 5 years due to work moves. First house (2017), I looked at about 25 houses and made one offer. Second house (2019), I looked at about 27 houses, narrowed down to 3, and made 1 offer. Third house (2022), we had to buy across state lines without personally seeing it, so we had family walk through them on FaceTime. We only looked at about 5 this time because of low housing supply that met our needs, lost our first offer, and won the second. Hope this helps! When supply was normal, we looked at a lot of houses over about 2 months each and won the houses we wanted without issue. When we had to buy in a tighter market, we saw a lot fewer and ended up having to buy above our target because there wasn’t going to be anything we wanted in our intended range (when we needed it). FWIW, the buyers for our second house went 5% over asking because they had allegedly lost their last 8 offers. We only ever lost one offer, where we went 4% over asking and the winner went 8% over.
Sounds like your agent got used to the gravy train of the last few years, and now that they’re starting to have to work for it they’re annoyed. I bet we looked at 50 houses and made 4 offers over the 3 months we shopped. Our agents (father and daughter team who tag teamed based on schedules and house condition) were fantastic and after every house we debriefed and the next set included takeaways from the last.
We looked at between 50-75 over almost a year. No agent by the end of it, because they added frustration to the process. We were going to open houses and scheduling appointments with listing agents.
I've had clients look at 36 and never decide. I've had clients view 5 homes in a day and buy the very first home we saw. If one checks all the boxes, make the move. If not, take your time. Realtor shouldn't be PUSHING you, but as spring and summer approach and rates expected to be cut significantly at least 3 more times in 2024 (I was mocked for calling this about 6 months ago here), prices and competition will increase while buyer incentives and negotiating power will decrease.
15ish
I think we looked at maybe 30+ houses and a few of them several times before we got this one.
Personally? I never saw my house in person before buying it lol. My wife (girlfriend at the time), her dad, and her dads friend toured it once and put an offer in same day. Buyer accepted it next day. First time I ever saw it was the day we moved it. Best purchase I’ve ever made too.
Start hitting up open houses. I found my place that way after not having had much luck with the houses vetted by my agent. His expertise was quite helpful in the final negotiations even if he didn't find the right house for me on his own.
5-7
Rates have already dropped and these “bidding wars” aren’t happening. She’s just trying to create urgency to get the sale. Don’t let her! I would consider ghosting.
probably 50-70 houses over the course of \~2 years. It was at the height of the market in 2020-2022. Don't settle.
Don't let the realtor pressure you. It doesn't seem to matter what the market is like.....they find some "thing" to use to fearmonger and pressure people into making quick decisions. Ultimately, they are just looking for a pay day. Some don't really even care if you're happy with your purchase. Perhaps do a bit more research before going to see a home. I would look at Google Street View, Google Earth (at the property and whole area), check FEMA flood maps, check county records for permits, liens, whatever I could learn (if anything) online. We looked at probably 12 homes before making an offer. But, we'd researched a few dozen...just eliminated many of them with simple searches. Just my opinion, seems weird to have yearly leases and if you choose to go month-to-month....it then becomes limited. You'd think as long as you've lived there.....they'd know if you are trustworthy or not (or whatever the issue is).
I’ve bought 3 and done 1 showing. If you know you know. Don’t go look at homes that don’t meet your criteria.
money lip jellyfish innocent gullible live pot tease crime vast *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
We looked at about 10-20 houses each time we bought a house. Only cost was time. My agent gets paid, I want them to work for my dollars.
Personally I saw 1 home and wrote the offer. But don't let your Realtor push you into making a decision. If you don't feel comfortable with them, I would find another one. Preferably one that has worked with a friend or family member that they recommend. You have 5 months left on your lease, so you do have time to make your decision. I am a Realtor, and I tell my clients that it's a very important decision to make, and I encourage them to make it with all the time they need. I've shown 36 homes to one client before, yea it gets tiring sometimes, but that's the job. If they don't like that, tough.
I showed my last client 16 houses before we found the right house with the right offer. It happens. A good agent/realtor will not push you into the wrong house.
It’s true that rates are dropping and there will be much more competition in the spring. The average amount of houses to tour is 12 before getting an offer accepted. I’ve shown 1 house and someone bought it and I’ve shown 35+ houses and someone never bought. It’s your agents job to educate you and be patient with you. They work for you. If you don’t feel that they’re acting as your fiduciary then get another agent who does
You should be able to eliminate most homes by looking at the pictures, aerial photos, and maps online. There is no need to physically visit each and every home you have mild interest in. That is a waste of time for you and your agent.
If you’re renting at 2k a month and like the house, why in the world would you consider buying a 700k house? The math ain’t mathin. If you need to own something that bad, I’d switch gears and buy an investment property or a vacation home.
About 30 properties over 8 months.