Friday, February 1, 2013

Spring Market 2013 is Underway and It's Still Deep Winter

I've always known the spring real estate market to start in Madison on the first day of business after New Year's Day. That's when people who are thinking of selling start to ask about making plans to be on the market in March and when people who want to buy start planning to look at homes in February. The eagerness of people this year is surprising---buyers are fast out of the gate and way ahead of the sellers.

A recent report on homes for sale showed the inventory of available homes is down all over Dane County and December sales were higher than previous years. I know that's carrying over into January. Buyers I'm working with are having a tough time finding homes in some of the historically higher demand neighborhoods. The homes that have lingered on the market are getting offers finally--not close to the original asking price, but with price reductions and some concessions, there are buyers who don't want to wait for the higher priced spring market homes to come on.

The best prepared buyers will have the best chance of getting their offers accepted this year. Sellers want security and price in the hot markets. For security give the seller an offer with a rock solid pre-approval letter. No wishy washy language such as "appear to be qualified" or "information not yet verified" will cut it.  If the owner is asking $200,000 and you are approved to buy up to $250,000 tell the owner. Hold nothing back. Let them know you are WELL qualified, not just getting by. If you are in competition, be aggressive with giving the owner what they want--peace of mind. Sure they want price too. But there you are wise to be careful. Make sure that the price you are willing to pay is verifiable. If there is no evidence to support the asking price and you have to offer that price to get your offer accepted, make sure to include an appraisal contingency. That might give you the ability to open up negotiations on price.

Owners might be smart to move up their time frame this year. March is typically a key date for placing homes on the market. With as much demand as we are seeing this spring (winter) I think February could give you an advantage. Buyer numbers are up, inventory is down, and inventory will rise in March---looks like February is a gap month favoring owners of well priced, well conditioned homes.


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