Getting Beyond Real Estate FUD

Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt. Otherwise known in business, sales and marketing circles as the FUD factor. FUD has long been a tactic to confuse the marketplace, and real estate has seen its fair share of FUD in the past few years.

Buyers and sellers have more information than ever at their fingertips. This can be a good thing on a lot of levels, but it can also be a leading contributor of FUD. Real estate information overload on both the national and local levels can make it difficult to filter through what’s important to you:

- Is it the right time to buy?
- Is it the right time to sell?
- Is it better to rent vs. buy?
- Should I wait for interest rates to fall even further, or will I miss the boat?

No one has a crystal ball to predict where the real estate market in Arlington is going. But data, experience and common sense can get you pretty close.

At this point you've heard it before: the market is great for sellers right now. So is this real, or is it more FUD? Based on our data, experience and common sense (DEC – our unofficial anti-FUD term) we are seeing a lack of inventory in the area – and combined with these amazing low interest rates – buyers have gotten off the couch and are eager for a decent home for sale.

Over the past few weeks, we have seen multiple offers on almost every listing with sale prices going above asking price. 

If you're thinking of selling, we believe this is the time. No one can forecast how long it will last, but it's the best market we've seen for sellers in three years. Data
from the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS (MAR) further supports these trends:

- Single-family pending home sales were up 35.6% compared to April 2011

- Mass. pending home sales hit the year mark with 12 straight months of increases

- Homes under agreement are reaching levels last seen during run-up to the tax-credit deadline

We are in unique phase of the housing cycle, and there is a window of opportunity for sellers in Arlington to get a great price for their homes quickly. But as history has proved time and again, this opportunity won’t last long – and too many people have been stuck in a quagmire of FUD.

It is important to get honest and detailed assessment of the real estate market in your community, within your neighborhood, and on your street to see where the opportunities are for you.