Recently I had a conversation with a buyer who contacted me about buying a house that went like this?

Buyer: What are you seeing in the market right now?

Me: I am seeing a lot more buyers in the market.  I see prices staying the same right now but there are a lot more buyers out there.  There seems to be a new found buyer confidence in the market and the realization that now is the right time to buy.

Buyer: My confidence is not up!

Me: Then why are you talking to me about buying a home?

This is a general trend I see right now.  Many buyers are very interested in what other buyers as a whole are doing right now.  While I do see health returning to the real estate market, I also see a lot of anxiety on behalf of buyers.

It reminds me somewhat of millions of tiny crabs on a beach waiting to see if the coast is clear at night.  “Hmmm… I hear other crabs moving, but how can I be sure?  Let me take a peak… Hmmm… I don’t see a crab there… Is that a crab over there?”

A lot of people are peaking out of their shells right now hoping that the coast is clear.  While I do see a lot of cautious crabs moving around on the beach right now, there are still a lot of pessimistic crabs slowly crawling onto the beach, worried that they have made the wrong call.