Monday, February 19, 2007

Home Bidding Wars...

This is not a concept of 2004 folks! Overpriced homes these days tend to languish on the market forever, while realistically priced homes (and homes priced a couple percent under current market value) tend to get multiple offers, sell quickly, and occasionally (in the case of "underpriced" homes) sell over the asking price.

Two cases in point from this last week...

I client I have been emailing listings to for a while now inquired about a very cute 3 bedroom /2 bathroom home in the Arden area that had just hit the market. The house is about 1100 square feet and, while a bit dated in style, is extremely clean and on a nice street. It was listed at $269,000. Before my client even had the chance to view the property in person, it went into escrow for more than the asking price.

Another client I have been working with for a few weeks inquired about a listing in Fair Oaks pretty close to the Illinois river access area. Nice 3 bedroom / 2 bathroom house of about 1600 square feet on a large quarter acre lot. New roof. New electrical panel. Weird floorplan. Terrible kitchen. Offered at $379,000. We looked at it yesterday afternoon, and this morning the listing agent called me to let me know there were already 2 offers, and she wanted to know if we were going to be making an offer. Luckily my clients already have an offer on another property they are in love with, so we do not have to fight with 17 other hopeful families over this one. Coincidentally enough, the home we are in current negotiations with has been on the market approximately 9 months and has dropped its price over $100k during that time period.

The moral of the story? Don't overprice your home...AND the market ain't all that bad - it is just normal again. FYI it is not normal for property to appreciate 20% year after year!

No comments: