Balance shifts to buyers

The collapse of property prices nationwide has given rise to two basic principles of home buying, both of which loom large in South Florida. In the market, the buyer has the power, said broker Scott Patterson of Esslinger Wooten Maxwell Realtors. Price is the key, he said, and if agents don’t get showings, the seller is overpriced. The other principle, which buyers must bear in mind, is to buy what you can afford, take a 30-year mortgage and think of a house as a place to live, not a piggy bank.