> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Market blues persist for buyers, sellers - URL: https://www.smdp.com/market-blues-persist-for-buyers-sellers/ - Published: 2008-08-20T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-25T00:43:56.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Opinion, Montana, #archive-import *By SIMON SALLOOM is a Santa Monica based realtor with Coldwell Banker, his Web site is WestsideSimon.com. Please check out his blog to comment on and discuss this article.* THE LOCAL REAL ESTATE MARKET IS challenging, there are no two ways about it. It’s not as bad as many parts of the country and it can’t last like this forever. A realtor friend of mine has had a property fall out of escrow three times and is now in escrow for the fourth time, this is after numerous offers and a lot of interest. The fact that properties keep going into escrow, coupled with the large number of prospective buyers, but not always staying in escrow, is keeping us agents very busy. I have a listing where I’ve had a lot of showings and about 20 to 30 people during every open house. We’ve had two offers, one of which resulted in an escrow. The day after my sellers accepted the offer, the buyers backed out. The property is west of Lincoln Boulevard, right off Montana Avenue — a choice location. And, it is priced below everything else on the market with a Zillow estimate of about 150k more than what we are asking. So much for Zillow. What this all means is that it is very difficult to actually close a deal right now. By virtue of the large number of prospective buyers, offers and escrows (although they aren’t actually closing as often as they normally would), this market can’t last forever. There is simply too much interest from buyers. Not having the means (which is rarely the case), and more importantly a lack of courage, is what is holding many buyers back. It’s a tough market for real estate agents because it means we work much harder to close a deal, whether we are representing buyers or sellers. I have as many serious buyers as I have ever had. These people are taking advantage of what has become a buyer’s market. This puts them in an opportune position to really have control over the escrow process. It also puts them in a place to take advantage of price levels we haven’t seen for a long while. For buyer’s right now, the main problem is that less people want to sell. There are actually less listings, in particular less quality listings than there were in the red hot market of a couple of years ago. If you have your life together, live in a good location and preside over a quality property and don’t absolutely have to sell, you are likely waiting until everything gets in order before putting your place on the market. With the general affluence of the Westside, this means a lot less listings compared with the lower end neighborhoods. It is these types of things that define a “buyer’s market.” The wise real estate business people who have seen a real estate atmosphere like this in the past have told me that now is, a good time to buy. There are many properties for sale that after the tax savings cost about the same to own vs. rent. Rents generally go up every year while mortgage payments stay constant. There will be a bottom, just like there was a top to the market. However, no one will know when that has happened until months after the fact. What needs to get in order you might ask. The banks in particular need to get their business straight. Interest rates, lending guidelines and solvent institutions change daily. This means that a buyer can be in escrow and find out a few days before closing that the loan they thought they were getting no longer exists. This can be for a number of reasons. For example, it can be because the banks have changed their guidelines or, sometimes, even that they are out of business altogether. Buyers like to ask, and understandably so, what will the market be like in about a year. My answer is that it could be down a little bit more, it could be the same or perhaps maybe even up a little bit, I don’t know. The forces that are putting the market in it’s current unpleasant state are a combination of the general economy and how difficult it is to get a mortgage. These conditions will improve. I expect that, like everything, what seems like it will last forever will change. We will look back in a year or two at this article and think how glad we are that things are back to “normal.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 20, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/082008.pdf?ref=smdp.com)