Housing market....

4Gas$ said:
I kinda feel the same way. A "bidding war" is basically a low quality auction!

I have always felt sorry for someone who's house sold in a day. The sellers tend
to think it was great, I tend to think, "I wonder how much money they lost out on?"
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When I got married my wife owned a house in Windsor and she owed right around what it was worth. The realtor was a friend of her brother, and he told us two prices. One was "Sell it now", one was "You are going to have to be patient" with a $20k difference. We listed the house at $109k, and got $105k. The Sell it now was $95 k and get $90k. We carried that house for 10 months during the great recession and still came out ahead. We waited and found that one buyer who exactly wanted it. If your realtor isn't doing that, they are being lazy.

If my realtor priced me in a bidding war, I would fire them on the spot unless selling in one day was part of the plan. Most people just go with a friend of the family or something, and sometimes that works, but other times they will try to make the quick buck. I would get three estimates just like anything else from three realtors and see who really wanted to put the work in.

-Geoff
 
Im guessing most bidding wars end with a home price that is higher than it appraised for and those buyers are willing to pay cash on top to make up the difference.
 
WhiteHawk said:
When I got married my wife owned a house in Windsor and she owed right around what it was worth. The realtor was a friend of her brother, and he told us two prices. One was "Sell it now", one was "You are going to have to be patient" with a $20k difference. We listed the house at $109k, and got $105k. The Sell it now was $95 k and get $90k. We carried that house for 10 months during the great recession and still came out ahead. We waited and found that one buyer who exactly wanted it. If your realtor isn't doing that, they are being lazy.

If my realtor priced me in a bidding war, I would fire them on the spot unless selling in one day was part of the plan. Most people just go with a friend of the family or something, and sometimes that works, but other times they will try to make the quick buck. I would get three estimates just like anything else from three realtors and see who really wanted to put the work in.
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Normally I'd agree with you, but not this time. As I mentioned, my daughter sold their condo in (1) day with a cash offer over asking. It wasn't anything special and they actually priced it 10K more than one had recently sold to jump on the market bandwagon. They went with a realtor who is familiar with the area and the one which just sold was a bit nicer than theirs, too. They weren't in a real hurry to sell either, since they wanted to sell it before buying a new place. Guess where they have been living the past several months :)

I am like you, I will always try to get the most and would have no problem pricing what I have more than the going rate. I know hindsight is always 20/20, but how much is too much over comps? As it was, they went 7% over the most recent sale and ended up with 10% over. I think that is happening with a lot of people and that is part of the problem. People are asking more than their place is worth, and getting multiple offers over asking and several are cash offers. It is a never ending vicious cycle, until it crashes once again.

So, how much is too much? Who knows anymore?

Just my .02.....grr
 
I think it really depends on the sellers situation, did they already buy or make an offer on a new house? Are they trying to get moved before school starts? Are they relocating to a different state etc. if I list I would like to be moved before school starts for the kids so a quick sale works for me with the option to stay in the house at least 30 days after closing with today’s market. My last house in Detroit sold in 36 hours and I don’t regret it one bit.
 
grr456 said:
Normally I'd agree with you, but not this time. As I mentioned, my daughter sold their condo in (1) day with a cash offer over asking. It wasn't anything special and they actually priced it 10K more than one had recently sold to jump on the market bandwagon. They went with a realtor who is familiar with the area and the one which just sold was a bit nicer than theirs, too. They weren't in a real hurry to sell either, since they wanted to sell it before buying a new place. Guess where they have been living the past several months :)
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i basically did this with my last house. except i was the one with everything updated and all basically new on the inside. i then took what the realtor who was EXTREMELY familiar with the area and went 20k over his suggested price. had a full price offer within 24 hours after 6 showings. could i have waited a possibly let a bidding war start. yes. but i wanted to secure a price i thought was already over what it was worth to me.
 
WhiteHawk said:
Every time I hear that there is a bidding war on a property, it makes me think that the sellers aren't asking enough. I mean wouldn't you be better off pricing the house and waiting for someone desperate to either meet your ask or make an offer higher than a bidding war might yield? I mean, if you get a bidding war, it is making an assumption that the buyer who will pay the most is looking at houses the exact week that you are selling. Am I missing something?

For example, if the most expensive comparable house on your street sold for $350k in a bidding war, would you be better to come in at $399k and wait 30-60 days for a full price or $390k offer or going for the bidding war at $350k and maybe or maybe not hitting $390k? I guess I am not seeing the upside for the seller, although it is definitely great for the realtor who gets 3% with minimal work marketing the property.

-Geoff
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4Gas$ said:
I kinda feel the same way. A "bidding war" is basically a low quality auction!

I have always felt sorry for someone who's house sold in a day. The sellers tend
to think it was great, I tend to think, "I wonder how much money they lost out on?"
Click to expand...
I get what you two are saying but not everyone has the luxury to just sit and wait months and months for top dollar.

Most have to sell to be able to buy. Example: What if you are ready to list your house but just found the house you want (finally). You need that down payment to avoid PMI or a crazy high payment. Also if I am a seller and I get 5 bids on my house? Are you going to pick the buyer that has a contingency of needing to sell their home before they can buy yours? No, you are going to go with the one with Cash offer, or with a good down payment and lender that is ready now. Its a balance for some to help put them in a position for when they actually do find that house. Have to be ready in this market or you will lose out that day!
 
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Krazybones said:
I get what you two are saying but not everyone has the luxury to just sit and wait months and months for top dollar.

Most have to sell to be able to buy. Example: What if you are ready to list your house but just found the house you want (finally). You need that down payment to avoid PMI or a crazy high payment. Also if I am a seller and I get 5 bids on my house? Are you going to pick the buyer that has a contingency of needing to sell their home before they can buy yours? No, you are going to go with the one with Cash offer, or with a good down payment and lender that is ready now. Its a balance for some to help put them in a position for when they actually do find that house. Have to be ready in this market or you will lose out that day!
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I agree 100%. But the case you are describing is normally the exception, not the rule. But I wouldn't argue that there is a new normal creeping into the market. Look at it like this though - If sell your house for $300,000 in a bidding war, what kind of hourly rate is your realtor getting? Even if they get 3%, that is $9000. That works out to about $1000 an hour by my math. I would prefer to make them work a little harder. And maybe you need to take that hit to get the place you want. Most people don't have to move on one days notice though, 30 days would be a pretty reasonable window to get the best possible offer, and still be agile. Hell, we went months last year when you couldn't even get a closing date.

-Geoff
 
WhiteHawk said:
I agree 100%. But the case you are describing is normally the exception, not the rule. But I wouldn't argue that there is a new normal creeping into the market. Look at it like this though - If sell your house for $300,000 in a bidding war, what kind of hourly rate is your realtor getting? Even if they get 3%, that is $9000. That works out to about $1000 an hour by my math. I would prefer to make them work a little harder. And maybe you need to take that hit to get the place you want. Most people don't have to move on one days notice though, 30 days would be a pretty reasonable window to get the best possible offer, and still be agile. Hell, we went months last year when you couldn't even get a closing date.

-Geoff
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I am not talking about needing 30 days or even 60 or 90 days to move.

Its a real problem finding that "next" house you want, then even being the one selected as "the" buyer from the seller that has 4 offers on the table.

Not talking about realtor fees at all.

Selling right now = EAZY PEEZY
Finding Replacement house where you are selected as actual Buyer = VERY Difficult right now

Just not enough inventory (Well nice inventory as most are not looking for that Starter home especially with how interest rates are).
 
Krazybones said:
I am not talking about needing 30 days or even 60 or 90 days to move.

Its a real problem finding that "next" house you want, then even being the one selected as "the" buyer from the seller that has 4 offers on the table.

Not talking about realtor fees at all.

Selling right now = EAZY PEEZY
Finding Replacement house where you are selected as actual Buyer = VERY Difficult right now

Just not enough inventory (Well nice inventory as most are not looking for that Starter home especially with how interest rates are).
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I am agreeing with you. I agree when you say that not everyone has time to wait. I think most people do though. Realtors have a hand in this too, it is partially market driven, then realtors are taking advantage of the conditions at client expense. That is why I put that in.

-Geoff
 
Krazybones said:
I am not talking about needing 30 days or even 60 or 90 days to move.

Its a real problem finding that "next" house you want, then even being the one selected as "the" buyer from the seller that has 4 offers on the table.

Not talking about realtor fees at all.

Selling right now = EAZY PEEZY
Finding Replacement house where you are selected as actual Buyer = VERY Difficult right now

Just not enough inventory (Well nice inventory as most are not looking for that Starter home especially with how interest rates are).
Click to expand...

Soooo accurate. We were interested in multiple homes that were put on the market, we called to set a viewing that same day and they were sold before we could even look at it. It was pretty frustrating for a while.
 
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