The latest stats for Pinellas County as well as Hillsborough County are insane – we are at the lowest inventory we have had in over 4 years. I have to giggle a little when people say to me “Well, I don’t want to get into a bidding war over this house…” I’m sorry Mr. Buyer, you may not have a choice anymore! Here are a few examples of what I’ve been experiencing lately with my own Buyers and Sellers, lately…
Buyer Bill – Wanted an Old Northeast charmer in St. Petersburg and had been looking for awhile. When I met Bill, he’d previously had another Realtor, and kept getting outbid on properties – and this was before the market started getting really hot. He felt his Realtor was perhaps not doing enough research on the comparable sales and giving him the best advice on where to go in with his offers. He kept driving over to St. Pete every weekend from Gainesville, only to lose out on homes he loved, so he decided to change agents. Finally a new home popped up in the MLS, and he called me from Gainesville. “Can you go look at it?! Like, tonight?!” he excitedly asked me, knowing that other buyers would be all over it, too. “Of course” I said, “if they’ll let me see it!” I scheduled a preview with the listing agent, and took lots of photos and sent them to Bill. I explained that if he made the offer sight unseen, he’d still have the inspection period in the contract as an “out” if he got there and hated it in person. He made an offer. We researched the comparable sales, and came in with a very strong offer a little over the asking price, and it was accepted, ahead of several others that were submitted. Bill came over that weekend to see the house and still loved it, and we closed about 45 days later.
Newlywed First Time Home Buyers Lisa & David – They were featured in today’s Tampa Bay Times article. They are looking for that charming St. Pete home to call their own under about $150,000. Sadly, they haven’t found anything they are head over heels in love with as much as they are each other…that’s within their price range. They are still on the hunt and getting a bit frustrated, but we are keeping our eyes peeled for a new listing to pop up so we can jump on it… anyone in St. Pete got a house they want to sell? Once they find “the one” they are a bit concerned about the bidding war that may ensue…
First Time Home Buyer Chris – Chris had been looking at townhomes with me for about a year, on and off. He spotted a model home that had come back on the market after a prior buyer’s financing fell through, and he jumped on it. He made an offer the day it came back on the market at over asking price. Someone else made a cash offer, and they got the house, and he was very disappointed. Chris later called me on a couple of other properties he wanted to see, and sometimes before we could even go see them, they were under contract. Chris started to get frustrated. I sent Chris a townhome that looked nice, and Chris said, write up the offer, before we even see it, just in case! We went to see it, and he signed the offer. Chris’ offer was accepted by the Seller and he is now under contract and scheduled to close next month. Finally! Congrats to Chris!
South Tampa Seller Doug – had his home listed and under contract in a matter of a few days. Sadly the contract fell apart due to the buyer’s financing and a bad mortgage company. Before I could even list it back as Active again, I had a call from the sign in the yard and a new Buyer with offer in hand, ready to go the same day. Other buyers didn’t even have a chance. So yes, if there’s a house out there that you love, and you know its under contract, it doesn’t hurt to drop the listing agent a line (or have your Realtor do it) and ask them to please let you know if it should fall through! You just never know…
Billy, the Indian Rocks Beach Buyer – Billy wanted to buy a condo on Indian Rocks Beach. He put in an offer on a condo unit that had been on the market only a few days. The owners were elderly and moving into a retirement home and the condo needed work. We submitted our offer on a Wednesday. Though it was a strong offer given the condition, it was contingent on financing. Usually when I write an offer, Sellers have 24 hours to respond, sometimes less if I know multiple buyers are interested. We heard nothing the next day. On Friday, the listing agent said she’d have to talk to her mortgage lender to make sure the building qualified for financing and that we might not hear anything until Monday. It felt like she was stalling. Contract deadlines seem to mean nothing to some Realtors anymore. Sure enough, Saturday, I get a call from the listing agent, “Sorry, we got a cash offer and the Sellers are taking it”. Why do I have a feeling that offer is from one of her buyers… Frustrating! Billy’s search continues…
Liane, the experienced Realtor – Yep. Yours truly is in the market for a new primary residence. I did everything I tell my buyers to do. I jumped when I saw this property in the Pinellas Point and Pink Streets neighborhood. I am picky – after all I get to stroll through some pretty amazing homes on a regular basis, so finding one for myself is challenging. This one was 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, with a pool, updated kitchen, pretty much move in ready. Suddenly, I felt like I imagine my buyers do. Sweaty palms, anxious – what if they say no? I wrote up a very strong offer (just shy of full priced) based on the comparable sales in the area. I got my pre-approval letter in order. Because the current owners bought the home in 2006, and I was able to pull up the old photos of the home in our MLS system, and I could see the many improvements the Sellers did to the home. I decided to write them a nice letter telling them how lovely my husband and I thought the home was, and what a great job they did with the renovations and how it suited our needs perfectly. I’ve had Buyers write nice letters to my Sellers before, and its a nice touch, especially when Sellers may have an emotional attachment to the home. It helps them to know that the new Buyer is going to take great care of their “baby”. I submitted everything to the listing agent and waited. I didn’t sleep that night, at all. The impression I got from the other agent was that multiple offers had been submitted, and that I had the highest offer in, but to my surprise, the next day I was informed that there was a cash offer on the table. Who in their right mind pays cash when interest rates are only 3.5%, I thought to myself? But sure enough, they went with the cash offer… I still believe I had the highest offer, but the Sellers perhaps wanted one less contingency in the contract and a quicker closing. I’m still dreaming about that house, and comparing every other house I see to it. *Sigh*…. maybe another one like it will come along someday… for now it will be the one that got away.
You may notice above that I’ve had far more Buyers than Sellers lately. Sign of the times. Realtors are light on listings right now because supply is down – demand is high. I have lots of Buyers and not enough Sellers – anyone want to sell a home? With inventory levels in many price ranges between 3 and 4 months (a Seller’s market) we are seeing lots of multiple offer situations again. As my buyer Chris recently commented to me after he was outbid by the cash buyer on the first house he bid on, “What is this, 2005?!” Yeah… really! At least prices are still not like 2005 levels! Take advantage of that, and these 3.5% interest rates while you still can… And if you are thinking about selling? What are you waiting for? It’s a Seller’s Market again! Call me…!
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