"Hurry! These Rates Won't Last!"

Lack of Buyer Urgency

I was taking advantage of a welcome -- and too brief -- lull in my schedule the other day to cull the accumulated detritus on my desk (and on my office floor, and chairs, and . . .), and saw the following postcard: 'Hurry! These Rates Won't Last!"

The date?

October, 2009.

And therein lies the problem.

Broken Record

Home Buyers -- and presumably, mortgage borrowers -- have seen low rates for so long now that that's all they know.

All the postcards, phone calls, email's, etc. screaming that they'd "better act now" or risk losing out are simply falling on deaf ears (and blind eyes, in the case of emails).

Which leaves Buyers whose sense of urgency comes from within -- specifically, newly married, a new baby, an expiring lease, a job transfer, etc.

Call that "organic" housing demand, which is driving the housing market at the moment (along with "organic supply": downsizing, relocation, divorce, health issues, etc.).

Which, come to think of it, isn't so bad . . .