Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Home Buying Tip for Dallas/Ft Worth ... Get Ready for Bidding Wars

A colleague of mine, Charita Cadenhead, a Realtor in Birmingham Alabama, puts things in perspective with how the Housing Market has turned. Like in Alabama, Multiple Offers and even Selling at 98-100% of the List Price is becoming the norm rather than the exception here in the Dallas/Ft Worth Metroplex.

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Homebuyers Caught Off Guard by Bidding War That's the title of an article that I read yesterday on Realtor Magazine online:  Homebuyers Caught Off Guard by Bidding War.  Immediately I thought "Really?  Really?" The fact is that it should be no surprise and in my opinion "caught off guard" does not accurately describe the what's happening.
Speaking from personal experience, I have been warning buyers that they better come with their A-Game for months now.  And on ActiveRain, members have been posting about bidding wars for even longer than that (Erica Ramus comes specifically to mind).
The article made me wonder where they got their information from.  No wait, just as soon as I typed that sentence,  it dawned on me that they must have gotten that info from buyers because as real estate agents, I feel almost certain that the vast majority of us have been doing our job and warning buyers that the real estate landscape was changing (as it was changing).
This is just my take, but I think the caption or the title of the article should have been "Buyers Are Now Starting to Believe What Their Agents Have Been Telling Them All Along:  There is a Bidding War going on. 
With the caliber of the inventory being less than stellar, buyers must realize that when they find that gem, they best come with the best that they have to offer.  Because just as sure as they fall in love with a property, there will be others falling in love with it almost simultaneously. 
Monkey around if you will, you'll find yourself making offers for the sake of making offers and in the end, settling for less than your heart's desire all because.......................well I'll let you finish that sentence. 
Here's my advice to buyers, when you happen upon that house that has all of the makings of home, it's no time to play games and play like the savvy negotiator.  Have your Realtor® or real estate agent review comps with you to see what homes have been selling for in the area and then make your offer accordingly.  If you don't make your offer based on the available data, then you can probably kiss that home goodbye and try to become friends with the new owners so you'll at least have a chance to visit the home that you lost to them.  


Charita Cadenhead, Your Metropolitan Birmingham, Alabama Real Estate Broker of Choice www.bhamwiire.com bhamwiire@gmail.com (205) 527-1112 - cell (205) 321-1200 - Office (800) 496-7431 - Fax