This market is by far a buyers market for several reasons. One reason is quite simply, the more homes on the market then there are buyers means a buyer has an upper hand in the negotiation process with a seller. The buyer comes across a stubborn seller that does not want to budge on his price, they buyer can walk with all certainty that they will more than likely find a similar home in the same area and not be afraid to walk right out of a deal during the negotiation process. Another reason and a big one is the interest rates on homes. It is no secret that the interest rates are the lowest in decades and this is a huge advantage to a buyer. They not only more than likely can purchase a home of their dreams for a great price, but more than likely can get an incredible interest rate as well. Even FHA loans are at an all time low, both conventional and FHA are under 5% which is incredible.

For a real estate agent that normally only handles listings, if they arent accustomed to this type of market that has several competing homes in the area, they may fall into the trap of the seller that does not want to reduce their price because Bob down the block sold his for X amount of dollars and the current seller will not reduce because he wants to get the same price, even though Bobs house was completely updated and twice as big.
In this type of market the real professional agents will for the most part be fine and weather the storm fairly unscathed for they know how to handle an uncooperative client as well as how to price a home competitively. However, the agents that are accustomed to taking a listing and not really having to do anything other than wait for an agent to show the house and boom a couple weeks into the listing the house sells, well, they are in for a rude awakening for those days are over unless the agent and seller have really done their due diligence ahead of time and priced the house to sell (slightly UNDER the going market rate).

Now has never been a better time for a real estate agent to start getting back to basics and making sure they are well versed in how to handle a challenging market.

John Horne, is considered to be one of the top brokers in the U.S. with a more than 800 real estate brokers under his direct supervision. He is the author of Just Shut Up and Buy the House- which in its first month was nominated for a Pinnacle Achievement Award and is a professional guide for real estate professionals and mortgage lenders. He has just been accepted into the prestigious membership of the American Society for Training and Development professionals. He is the owner and CEO of Agent Edge Training Inc.