Buyer or Sellers Market in League City?
By: Deborah Bly RE / MAX Space Center- The Bly Team deb @ agentbly. com
Well, it depends! Our market has certainly been booming and many of you as buyers have been met with the challenge of being in a multiple offer situation... and you have been outbid!
Most often the first thing we think about in a multiple offer situation is“ how is my offer going to win”? Do I have to offer the highest sales price on a home? Where this may seem intuitive, it’ s not always necessarily the best plan. Sometimes what is more important are the terms of the contract.
Not everything is about price 1. Has a buyer been pre-qualified? Sellers, while this seems basic, there are many buyers that don’ t get completely qualified before putting an offer on a home. This buyer is not going to be as strong a buyer as one that has been completely pre-qualified. 2. Earnest money. Frequently a buyer may offer up more earnest money to impress or entice a seller to take their offer. Where this may look impressive for an experienced realtor or seller, this enticement has little value. Even if the earnest money were a huge amount, this is money the buyer would get credited back to them if the buyer decided to terminate the offer during the option period. 3. Option period. This is where a serious buyer can really stand out from other buyers on the table. A typical option period might be $ 100 for 10 days. What this means is that the buyer has 10 days to inspect and evaluate the home. If they back out for any reason within that 10-day period, the seller keeps that $ 100. If the buyer is serious enough with the home they are putting an offer on, I have seen as much as $ 2,000 get offered for an option period. While this puts $ 2000 at risk of the buyer loosing should they back out, it makes a very strong statement to a seller who may be looking at other offers. 4. Seller temporary lease backs. This is also a term in the contract that could showcase you, as the buyer, in a positive light. Frequently a seller may put their home on the market but hope to finish out a job, the school year or perhaps a new home being built. If such a seller can have a period of time to lease their property back after closing, they can have peace of mind knowing that they have collected the equity in their home and that no unforeseen last-minute closing catastrophes may erupt. This piece of mind can be a strong negotiating tool.
While these 4 items by no means encompass all the things that a seller may look at in an offer, they are definitely 4 that can give a buyer strong leverage. Another big differentiator that plays a part in it being a sellers’ market is the sales price, as seen in the graph below.
Sales Price # Of Sales Average DOM Median DOM Median SP / LP % Average SP / LP % 0- $ 199,999 153 26 8 95.96 % 95.77 % 200K-300K 431 34 12 99.27 % 98.80 % 300K + 374 117 74 98.40 % 97.73 %
Our largest volume of home sales was in the 200-300K price range( 431 sales), with a competitive 12 days( median) on market.
Although the 200K or less price range only showed 153 sales, this was simply a factor of market supply. If you are looking for a home under 200K, you are going to find slim pickings, as seen by the 8 days( median) on market. These properties are flying off the market!
MOMENTUM / September 2018 37