The housing market in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County is moving very quickly right now.  The median "days on market" is only five days... which means that half of homes are going under contract in five or fewer days.  

This fast moving market is largely caused by a supply and demand imbalance.  There are more would-be buyers who want to buy than there are would-be sellers who are willing to sell.

The fast moving market is resulting in very low housing inventory in just about every price range and location in our market.  

Given a quickly moving market and very low inventory levels, many would-be home buyers are thus concluding that they will likely need to make a relatively speedy decision about whether to make an offer when they see a new listing of interest.  

Some buyers, though, might feel like these current market dynamics (low inventory, quickly moving market) are forcing them to make rushed decisions.

So, should would-be home buyers feel rushed and forced into making quick decisions?

No.

It is totally OK for home buyers in this market to make buying (or offering) decisions with whatever speed they would like.

It is OK to move quickly in making a decision about an offer - and yes, that will likely increase your odds of being able to secure a contract on a house.

It is OK to move slowly in making a decision about an offer - and yes, that will likely decrease your odds of being able to secure a contract on a house.

But in the end... you get to decide how quickly you will make decisions about making an offer on a house in the current market.

I won’t be rushing you to make decisions more quickly than you are comfortable... and current market dynamics shouldn’t be some external and magical force that rushes you to make a decision more quickly than you are comfortable.

Let’s start exploring some houses together that you might want to buy, let’s come to understand the market as we go, and then you can make the decision about how quickly to make an offer based on your comfort level and based on how well any particular house fits your needs.

It can be a stressful time to try to buy a home given current market dynamics, but it is totally OK to move at your own speed... whether that is fast or slow... or even if it starts off slow and then speeds up over time.