commit dff82d8ef9b1c3946f1ed68dbee8f6a2521505ee Author: jannpritchett5 Date: Wed Apr 8 07:57:07 2026 +0000 Add 'The Realtor Game' diff --git a/The-Realtor-Game.md b/The-Realtor-Game.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d9b2518 --- /dev/null +++ b/The-Realtor-Game.md @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ +The real estate market does not move in one direction nationwide. It never has. What is happening in Austin is not what is happening in Cleveland. What is true for a three-bedroom in the suburbs of Dallas has almost nothing to do with a two-bedroom in San Francisco. Before you do anything else, narrow your focus to the specific market you are shopping in and stop reading national headlines as if they apply to you personally. + +In markets where developers managed to bring inventory to market faster than demand absorbed it, prices have pulled back. Phoenix, Austin, and parts of Florida saw corrections of ten to fifteen percent from peak levels in some submarkets. But those are the exceptions. Most markets are not working from excess; they are working from scarcity. + +Here is what that creates for someone who has done the work before they start looking: less competition than you would have faced in 2021 or 2022. The panic buyers are gone. The buyers who showed up with desperation instead of preparation have mostly sat back down. What remains is a more functional market, even if it is not a cheap one. + +Before you look at a single listing, get your mortgage pre-approval completed and in hand. Not a rough estimate. Not a verbal confirmation from a loan officer you met once. A full pre-approval based on verified income, tax returns, bank statements, and a hard credit pull. Without that letter, you are not a buyer, you are a browser. + +If the report surfaces problems that go well beyond normal wear and tear, you have real choices, and walking away is a legitimate one of them. You can request a credit against the purchase price to handle repairs yourself. Signing off on a failing roof or a bad HVAC system is not the same house you made an offer on. + +Budget two to four percent of the purchase price for closing costs, on top of your down payment. First-time buyers are sometimes surprised by how much cash is required beyond the down payment itself. Ask your lender for a Loan Estimate with a realistic purchase price so the numbers reflect what you are actually going to face. + +For buyers with a real reason to be in a specific place for the foreseeable future, this market is full of opportunity that distracted or impatient buyers miss. The homes that meet real criteria at a realistic price are still moving. They are going to the people who did the homework before they started looking at listings. + +Buyers who take the time to research properly tend to find that opportunities exist even when conditions look difficult on paper. A quick look at [up-to-date property listings](https://certihaus.com) will tell you more about your local market than most of what you read in national coverage. \ No newline at end of file