A buyers market is when there are more sellers than buyers, this results in prices being lowered due to excess supply and not enough demand. This can be seen in the recession that we are currently in. A buyers market can be a great place for new deals and for shifts of wealth.
A buyers market can be great for people who have saved/ been good with their money i.e. not in debt, so they can make the most of the buyers market.
I suspect we will see a change in the rich, from middle classes joining the upper classes of society through savvy investment in this harsh time and making the most out of there money.
However, just because you feel you have more power as a buyer still doesn't grantee you will get that deal, but it is worth a try and its worth hunting around as usually someone will give you that deal!
If bought as a home, house sellers can often still have more "power" than the buyer as more emotions can get in the way. The buyer could feel "No its that one or no other" and so give in money to ensure they get the home of their dreams.
But if bought as an investment, the power can still be in the buyers favour. If seeing it as a business, you have to try to take out your emotions so they don't influence the power, and be prepared to get the deal you want, be happy with the compromises or walk away.
The friend of myn was buying a property that had already been reduced by £50k. The market had already done allot of the negotiating towards a better deal for her! But I told the friend to try to get them down even further, at the end of the day the house price was a more realistic price in respect of the current housing market, but in England you always aim to negotiate the price down further. So they went in low, didn't get the low bid but did get the house for £80k off the original price. This price was achieved by: 1 the current economic situation and it’s a buyers market, 2 both parties eagerness to complete, as it was a sale of a deceased relative and 3 because they bothered to haggle.
Buying a house can be used as a format for buying anything, i.e. try to buy something for a reasonable/fair amount. Paying £310k for a house in a recession when it was priced as such before the recession, may not have been reasonable... because the standard upon which house prices are set would have said it should have been lower (the housing market). Equally paying £260k may have been unreasonable if there were lots of problems to be fixed. A price made either by seller or buyer needs to be justified and seem as reasonable based upon common standards, i.e. costs, the rate of inflation, etc.
Buying a second-hand car, if the price doesn't appear to be reasonable... i.e. maybe a car you have seen down the road is similar and is selling for less, question them as to why the price of the car is as it is. Does what they say to justify the price seem fair? Explain your situation and maybe your standard for a reasonable price for the car, the current economic situation? The car down the road? The fact the car needs MOT etc. Then state a more realistic price you see as fair for both parties.
Try this approach now in this buyers market and your probably more likely to get that deal you’re after. The practice will enable you to gain confidence for when we start to leave this recession as well!
