KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After a year of looking in a wild housing market, Mark and Kaylahree Murdick just bought a new house.
"It's been a long time coming," Mark said.
The couple moved from Waldo to Lenexa and said they're relieved they bought when they did, considering the rise in mortgage rates.
"We had a great realtor who helped us take a step back as prices were rising and we were seeing that and kind of right sized the house and the areas we were looking in," Kaylahree said.
Their realtor, Alex Owens, said in this market it's important for buyers to really understand what they're looking for.
"The more you understand what your top three or your top five needs and wants are then you are going to be able to pinpoint the right house and be confident when you need to act quickly," Owens said.
Owens encourages buyers to be prepared and patient.
Joan Yaffe with ReeceNichols Real Estate said the shortage of inventory combined with rising mortgage rates may prompt buyers to skip some important steps.
"Buyers are doing crazy things, they are waving inspections. We don't think that is a good thing to do, I think you should understand the house and then if it has issues and you are willing to accept it that way, fine," Yaffe said.
Yaffe also recommends buyers be pre-approved before looking, as sellers may want to pass on buyers who don't have a pre-approval letter.
For the Murdicks, they said the process is well worth it.
"We just tried to be as patient as we could and wait for the right one to hit and we knew we wanted to be aggressive when we found the one we really wanted and so that's what we did," Kaylahree said.
