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| The home you've been looking for... |
Your agent calls you and apologizes saying your offer was not accepted. You later find out there were over 18 offers on the home and the accepted offer was $60K over asking on a $500K home. You had offered $10K over. Really - $60K over on a $500K home? What gives?
A year and a half ago there was a glut of bank owned homes, short sales and ready available homes. Now, in Sonoma County and especially in areas like Sebastopol, finding a home and having an offer accepted is a challenge. For a real estate agent working with buyers - it's no fun.
Several things have changed over the last year that have contributed to the current difficulty in being able to find a home and then having your offer accepted. The first is that a lot of the bank owned and short sale homes have been snapped up. There are still some, but it's not like it was a year ago. Second is that the overall prices of existing homes is on the rise. A homeowner that purchased a home for $600K and saw their value drop to $350K, now finds their home has increased in value to $400K. Instead of walking away from an underwater home, it may now be worth it for them to sit tight and wait for the market value of their home to increase. Third - there are just not many new homes being built. The need for housing increases but the available inventory is less.
My advise - look for the location you want but think about a home that needs some updating. If the home seems structurally sound but is out of date - your chances of having an offer accepted are higher. The home will be less expensive and updating a kitchen and 2 bathrooms can still keep you under what you might have paid in a bidding war for a fully updated home.
Don't give up - interest rates are at an all time low and it's worth the effort to take advantage of lower home prices and the incredibly low interest rates.
