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Every few years the housing market rewrites the rules, and buyers who learned the last set of rules show up unprepared for the new ones. Right now, the rules have changed more than they have at any point in a generation. The buyers who understand that are finding deals. The ones who do not are making expensive mistakes.

In markets where builders have added meaningful supply in recent years, prices have pulled back. Several Sun Belt metros that boomed during the pandemic have given back a portion of those gains. But those are the exceptions. Most markets are not working from excess; they are working from scarcity.

Affordability, by the standard measure of what share of median household income goes toward the monthly payment on a median-priced home, is near its worst level since the early 1980s. That is a real problem, and it is not going away quickly. A market can stay unaffordable for longer than most buyers expect to wait. What it means, practically, is that fewer people can compete for each property.

Before you look at a single listing, get your mortgage pre-approval completed and in hand. Not a rough estimate. Not a verbal confirmation from a loan officer you met once. A full pre-approval based on verified income, tax returns, bank statements, and a hard credit pull. In this market, a seller who receives an offer without that documentation will not take it seriously.

The inspection is where the marketing copy meets reality. Show up for it even if it costs you half a day of work. A good home inspector will walk you through what they are finding as they go, and the conversation is often more valuable than the written report that follows.

Budget enough to cover origination fees, title, escrow, prepaid taxes, and insurance without being caught short at the table. First-time buyers are sometimes surprised by how much cash is required beyond the down payment itself. Ask your lender for a Loan Estimate as early in the process as possible.

For buyers with the financial cushion to handle a repair bill without panic, this market is full of opportunity that distracted or impatient buyers miss. The homes that are right for a specific buyer’s actual needs are still moving. They are moving to buyers who showed up prepared.

Real estate rewards preparation more than it rewards timing. The market does not wait for the ideal moment, and neither should buyers who have done the work. Check up-to-date property listings and see whether what is available matches what you have been planning for.