Buyer’s Remorse vs. Non-Buyer’s Remorse

It is typical for every purchaser of goods to feel some remorse over the price they paid, color of the object, the options they should have gotten…etc which we call “Buyers Remorse”.  Now there’s another feeling that people go through call “Non-Buyers Remorse”, which is caused by missing out on a purchase by waiting for various reasons.  Is it any more or less significant? 

First, let’s consider “Buyers Remorse” .  In real estate, because of the sheer cost of residences people tend to over think what they just purchased.  Most people don’t purchase houses everyday and unless your a seasoned investor, it’s natural to wonder if you paid too much, could you have gotten more house for the money, is it really in the right location and the list goes on forever.  Normally it is thought that buyers markets help with the remorse as there are so many houses to choose from and time to negotiate the right deal, but does it?  Probably not.  When there are too many choices, people tend to like many different houses because of one or two aspects and when they finally settle on one, the questioning starts almost immediately.  When there are fewer houses to choose from the differences between houses seem much more apparent and while they still wonder if they got the best deal, can they really afford it or should they have purchased it, they usually settle down quickly once they are in the house and have made it their own and have made the payments for the first couple of months.  In any event, people need to realize that it is ok and normal to have these feelings.

Conversely, “Non-Buyers Remorse” is a concept that has started to be discussed but has been around for years.  Have you ever thought about buying something maybe a new video camera but waited because it will come down in price, there will be more free options in the next model, the format may change…etc, and then you miss making movies of your children who will only be that age once.  This also happens in real estate.  When the market is moving up, people wonder if they can afford it and is it really what they want and so forth.  When the market is falling people wonder if it will continue to drop in price, has the market reached the bottom and in this economy maybe there we can purchase a nicer house that someone else is losing.  Before I go any farther, I do not believe that anyone openly hopes that someone else’s loss will be their gain but it does happen.  In both instances, in up or down markets the end result is that the delay in making a decision can be costly to the buyers.  How you may ask will it hurt the buyers.  In upward moving markets, the decision to wait will potentially cause them to pay more for the house than when they first thought about it or someone may buy it because they perceive it is a good price.  In downward markets the same is true, waiting for the downward trend may cause people to miss out on the house they really like and later can’t find one to match.  It is also very difficult to find the bottom of a market because the way most people determine the bottom is when the prices start going up.  Oops.  Rates also need to be considered as in down markets the loan interest rates have decline with the loss in demand for the loans.  If the inverse is true then rates will rise as the demand for home loans increases.  Therefore, by waiting and trying to hit the bottom of the pricing market, you may also give up the best interest rate for your house loan which means you will have a higher monthly payment.   Ouch, that will give you some remorse every time you make a payment for your house. 

So whether you buy now or later in up or down markets, you will have some feelings that you could have done better.  It is natural and a part of most people’s thoughts.  How you deal with it is by realizing that you did the best that you could at that time.  Most people will get to try it again at a later date, hopefully many years later, and use what they learned the last time to improve the result.   Will it be perfect?  Probably not, but there could be another chance later.

Dave Sato
Realtor, Buyer’s Agent
dave@seattlepowersearch.com
425-213-6411