04/07/2021
The past few months in real estate have had a theme I've wanted to share for quite some time. I'm sure you've heard how tough this market is for buyers, and I DEFINITELY felt that last year, but this year I feel like I'm in a little bit of a bubble unaffected by the craziness others keep talking about. This market is such that buyer's often need to leap before they look. Sell the house before you know where you'll go, end the lease and hope you don't end up homeless, pay more than you're comfortable with and hope the future job opportunities come together, etc...
Somehow through it all, I've watched over and over and over again as people trust the feelings they're having prompting them to buy and add action to that faith, beautiful miracles are unveiling before my eyes again and again.
In a market where $50k over list and a waived appraisal doesn't always mean you'll get the house, I've watched my clients experience the following:
One buyer offered $19k over list and $5k over appraisal, when the appraisal came in $43k low (which we believe was well below market value), the seller's dropped the price and moved on rather than relisting. A few months later, she's sitting on $50-75k of equity.
Another buyer managed to slide into a house right by their family with no other offers AT ASKING PRICE and get their closing costs paid!
Another buyer offered what we believed was significantly over the value of the home (based on what another buyer would pay), but it was still far less expensive than building and was what they wanted for their life. A week after going under contract, another buyer offered to pay them to cancel their contract so he could buy the house instead (meaning, pay their price plus some). They also sold their house for quite a bit more than we'd planned on.
Another buyer drove past a house for months that they told themselves they'd buy if it ever came available... it was listed and somehow it sat on the market for days with no offers. We were able to frantically pull together their house to sell and get them under contract on the purchase. They had to waive their contingency to sell their house - meaning if their sell didn't work out, they had to still be able to close. They saved every paycheck in case they needed it for the down payment and lived with a high level of stress for a couple of weeks, but it all came together perfectly, and again, sold for $20k more than we'd hoped.
Another buyer maintained they wanted to build and have been on a waitlist for months and had months to go while they raise prices $10k/month and interest rates keep climbing. I've been nervous for them, but they've held steady that that's what felt right for them. Sure enough, in true miracle fashion, they were #20 on the list last week and this week we got the call that EVERYONE else has moved on and they are next up. This is nothing short of a miracle.
Another buyer - young, newlywed first time home buyers (rare in this market), offered $37k over list with $6k over appraisal and won out even though we feel that's about where the house should have been priced to begin with. After a few thousand dollars of upgrades, they'll be looking at $10-20k in equity.
I know this is the longest post ever, but I've been feeling the need to share. This has been a huge faith builder for me to follow what we feel we need to do and trust those feelings and add the action to the faith to see the miracles unveil. I feel incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to work with so many wonderful people as they transition to the next chapter of their lives.
