Buyers will always have a list of things that they “want” in a home and I’ve found that buyers can have an equally long unwanted list. For decades, we were fortunate to have a marketplace filled with options where you could get most of what you wanted in your budget, so having a list really helped your agent find something that you would be happy buying.
Today is a different story together. Today’s home search is all budget-driven. Interest rates are high and the market competition has nearly eliminated buyers having any realistic list. This may mean that all you can do is find something that has windows and doors within your budget, causing a lot of buyers to tap out!
This kind of compromise is a hard pill to swallow. I’m convinced there is a myriad of people still waiting for the bottom to drop out.
But now you feel trapped where you are because the purchase amount you can afford has dropped by $100,000 due to interest rates! Worse, inventory is still non-existent and homes are selling as soon as they hit the market.
For most of us, we have this mental picture of the “perfect” home. The excitement of searching for our dream home and checking the boxes on our list is exhilarating! But these days, once you begin viewing homes with your favorite realtor, disappointment slowly sets in and it all seems hopeless. You feel like you will never be happy in any of the homes you’ve walked through.
If this is you, I want to challenge you to redefine what happiness is. Happiness is defined as “the state of being happy.” Instead of feeling hopeless, consider that you have an opportunity to own your own home and build your own wealth. Only 67.4 percent of Americans own a home.
Owning any home is a dream come true that you can achieve. Just being a homeowner should make you happy! When you can paint or fix it up any way you choose and anytime you want, that is exciting! Instead of renting and paying for someone else to own a home, you are investing in your financial future! That is exciting! You can live anywhere for a few years and then sell that home and make money to put towards your next home! It’s crazy exciting!
You have a choice in the matter. If you can see the value of building something now that could propel you forward in the future financially, you can be happy in any home. If you can realize that your friends and family are coming to see you, and not your house, you have a value beyond the walls you reside in. Barbecue and poker nights will be just as fun in a smaller place with only one bathroom that belongs to you! You can celebrate with the ones you love anywhere and having loved ones to celebrate with, is way more important than having all your wish list items met in a home.
The real truth is, that we are blessed people living a life where we generally can have everything we want. Let me encourage you to see that home is where you can chill in your favorite chair and stay safe from the storm. It is where you can have running water and a pizza delivered for dinner when you are too tired to cook.
If you can buy any home within your budget, you can be happy, and I believe you will find that true happiness is always homemade.
