THE POLO SPORT EFFECTS

A few years ago, I was in an outlet mall in the US. For some reason, one of the things on my “must buy” list was the iconic Polo Sport Eau de Toilette by Ralph Lauren.

Maybe it was nostalgia. Maybe I smelled it somewhere years ago. But the scent instantly brought me back to my adolescent years. Strange how fragrances can do that. Anyway, I walked into the first perfume store I saw. The bottle was on sale, so I bought it immediately.

Mission accomplished.

After that, I went back to looking for my family while they wandered around the outlet mall doing their own shopping. But then I passed by another perfume store.

Out of curiosity, I checked the price of the exact same Polo Sport bottle I had just purchased. To my horror, it was around 20% cheaper than the one I had bought earlier. My brother told me I could probably just return the first one. But my pride wouldn’t let me. (“What am I… poor?!”) 😂

Anyway, that experience permanently changed the way I buy things. Since then, whenever I purchase anything significant, I instinctively compare multiple stores first before making a decision. And honestly, I think many real estate buyers today behave the same way.

A buyer sees a property at a fantastic price. Maybe even a “good deal” by their own standards. But instead of immediately pulling the trigger, they continue scanning the market. Because in today’s environment, everything feels like it’s on sale. So buyers keep comparing. Keep canvassing. Keep waiting to see if something better appears. Or sometimes… just to make sure they can still ask for another 20%30% discount on an already discounted property.

And that, I think, is one of the major reasons why the real estate market feels so slow right now. There’s simply too much supply and too many choices — which stretches the decision-making process much longer than usual.