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