Like (vs. Love) at First Sight

Real Estate 'Lightning'

Does love at first sight happen in real estate? Absolutely.

However, I'd say it occurs less than 10% of the time. When it does, though, you know it: like lightning striking, the Buyer -- or Buyers, if it's a couple -- immediately have a changed look in their eyes and, in fact, their entire demeanor shifts.

In a word, everything about them telegraphs "Ye-s-s-s!!"

It might just be my imagination, but I swear you can feel the crackle of electricity in the air.

Most of the time, however, I'd characterize Buyers' initial reaction to the home they end up buying as "strong like."

From "Like" to . . Anxiety

When they first see the home, it just seems to feel right. Then, when they see it again, the feeling grows.

The home may not have everything they want, but one of two things inevitably happens: the Buyers either decide it's not that important, or, they busily get to work figuring out how to add what they want, or, change things to their taste.

(This is yet another uncanny instance where there are strong parallels between homes and relationships: how many times have you heard a single guy (or woman) tick off all the attributes they're looking for in their ideal mate? Then, when the right person shows up, "the list" somehow seems to get discarded.)

As a Buyer's agent, I can always tell when my clients are progressing to making an offer, because another emotion kicks in: anxiety.

As in, "how long do we have before somebody buys it first?"