Well it’s been another rollercoaster ride over here on the #RealtorLife. Last week I partnered with an out-of-town agent who had clients looking to buy in my area. From Friday through the following Wednesday, I went on one heck of a rollercoaster ride.

I know it was only a brief period of 4-5 days, but boy, did I bust my ass working on this. For example, on Monday, I was on the phone all day. I had 40 phone conversations, part of my due diligence tracking down answers and doing extensive research on behalf of the clients. In the end, we lost out. The lesson learned? This market is still a seller’s market, so despite recent shifts, it still moves FAST. Homes continue to go into contract without contingencies in less than a week.

As a former engineer, I understand that homebuyers want to be thorough and careful. I identify strongly with wanting to comb through every page if disclosures. After all, this is a monster purchase. But at the same time, ours is a unique market. The seller expectation on hot properties is to have the offer come clean, come strong, and come fast, i.e. hit the number, remove all contingencies, and get the offer in pronto. I think the realization here is that if buyers cannot accept the unknown or feel comfortable enough with taking a leap of faith and/or taking that risk, they need to focus on languishing properties with longer days on market. Alternatively, they might even need to consider bowing out of the market entirely for now. I’m not trying to be rude or harsh. I’m just saying candidly: we know what it takes to win.

The other lesson? Homebuying is a lot like dating. All the stuff along the way matters. Presentation and impression are super important. The sellers and list agents are watching you the entire time, observing every interaction with them and with the vendors: what questions, what deliberations, what requests, what demands, how are you communicating with them? All of these behaviors are indicators and clues for the transaction. Will it be rocky or will it be seamless?