I’m super excited for our open houses this weekend!
Sellers know that it’s still a seller’s market, driven by low interest rates and limited supply. With a below-market-value list price intended to attract multiple offers, some sellers wonder just how high a price they can get for their property. Without a list price determined by market value, some sellers are turning down the first one, two, or three offers thinking that with time, who knows how much money they can get for their house. It feels like some sellers are slowing down and not just grabbing an offer from the first ready buyer.
Buyers are over-the-moon elated that open houses are back and that it’s now so easy to see every house on the market. Clients are fascinated that open houses are popping up online on random days at random times and they’re running to go check out the houses with fervor. With open houses back, buyers wonder if the possibilities are endless and with that wonder, it’s sometimes hard to choose which house is the best one to buy. It feels like some buyers are slowing down while they decide which house is best.
On one listing, we got an offer for 100,00 over the asking price this week. The seller wasn’t quite ready to accept, so the seller decided to hold off and to see what comes next weekend. In the meantime, once the seller didn’t jump on it, the buyer pivoted and went into escrow on a different property. It’s hard to know if the buyer pivoted because the seller expressed a desire to wait or if the buyer would have pivoted regardless.
I get automatic notifications all day long of properties going back on the market. Both sellers and buyers are thinking and figuring out what they really want to do. Buyers who are nice go into escrow once they know what they want; it’s nicer to be slow and deliberate and not to tie up a seller’s property unless a buyer is sure they want to buy it.
Our buyers who lost their dream house in a multiple offer situation scored when the house went back on the market and then our buyers were SO excited to buy it. Our buyers were sure, more so after losing it the first time around, and so it was super respectful all around. Just the way we like it.
Before Covid, when we sold houses during regular life with no pandemic or shut down, our reputation and preferred way of listing homes was to price at fair market value given the condition. We mostly didn’t price houses super low to create a bidding war, and we mostly didn’t price houses too high so that we needed to reduce the price to get the house sold. It feels like we’re heading back in that direction.
In general in life, I’m not into gimmicks. I like clear, transparent, honest communication. I like what’s fair, reasonable and true. Prices that are not too high, not too low, and just right fit that bill. With a list price at fair market value, the owners don’t get asked to accept an offer too fast and a buyer doesn’t get pushed to make a decision in an instant at a deadline before they’re truly ready. It’s all natural market forces without setup or manipulations. And that feels like a recipe for happily ever after.
In the season of graduations, congratulations are in order to all of us for graduating from the pandemic life! It’s fun to be on this side!
Have an awesome weekend!
Xoxoxoox,
Sheri
