Roseville, Calif. – There are many articles describing what you should do to find and tips for buying a house. They include things from, “Know Thyself” to “Get Prequalified.” None of these articles are wrong and there is good advice including doing research, use a Realtor, get your finances in order and be realistic. Maybe more important today, in our Sacramento area housing market, is to be prepared to have your patience tested and understand the process of finding and buying a home can be difficult for many buyers, especially in the lower price range.
In our Sacramento housing market the demand for houses is stronger than the supply of homes for sale. This, not only, means there is upward pressure on prices, it also means it is a seller’s market. Almost every seller is getting multiple offers in the under $500,000 price range for homes in good neighborhoods that show well. This past weekend I was working with a young professional couple looking to buy their first home in Sacramento. They want to buy a home priced below $425,000 and want something that does not require too much work to move-in and would like something they describe as charming. After a few days and a dozen houses we found one in the Tahoe Park neighborhood. It met all the needs of our buyers and then some. It was in a good neighborhood, clean, updated and had charm galore. I knew this was not going to be easy but we prepared a over asking price offer, had our buyers write a letter to the sellers and prepared their lender to make a follow-up call on the listing agent to assure her the buyers were approved and would have no problems making the purchase. We even went so far as letting the listing agent know we could improve our offer if there were other buyers.
The great offer we made was only 1 of 25 the seller received on the Tahoe Park home. We don’t know the details but the listing agent told us there was one “very aggressive” offer the sellers could not refuse. I suspect it was a high cash purchase price or one which did not depend on an appraisal. We can’t blame the seller for this but it does make it difficult for buyers and after several defeats they want to quit looking and avoid the frustration.
In the example above I want to commend the listing agent who was responsive and easy to work with. This is becoming the exception in our “Seller’s Market.” Many of the agents we deal with understand their listing is in demand and they have leverage. Too often they are not responsive and seem to check out for days. There is nothing more frustrating than having anxious buyers and not being able to tell them when we can expect to hear about an offer. Buyers are willing to wait but not for excessive days or excuses about seller’s being out of town while other offers are solicited.
For buyers who understand the process of finding and buying a home can be a bumpy and have patience success can be achieved. We have been through this before and even after losing out on several listings the home they end up with seems to make it all worthwhile. If you are a buyer, hang in there; trust your agent and success can be yours.
