Email ElizabethWhat Home Buyers Can Now Expect in Sacramento Real Estate
One thing to get straight right up front about what home buyers can now expect in Sacramento real estate is the market is not crashing. Our market is definitely not a bubble waiting to burst. Too many owners have too much equity and a higher number of sales have no loan at all. The scary no-doc loans given to any person with a pulse is absolutely not happening. However, what home buyers can now expect in our housing market is softer pricing. There are no smart sellers hoping for “my way or the highway” anymore.
Instead, smart sellers are viewing the competition with an eagle-eye lens. They are making their homes better priced and more attractive than the competition in hopes their home will sell faster. Oh, there are a few sellers still looking for that needle in the haystack, that unicorn buyer, but I definitely see that sort of attitude quickly changing.
What home buyers can now expect in Sacramento real estate is more negotiation. Prices are no longer firm. Many sellers are willing to help pay closing costs, too. There are not as many multiple offers for median priced homes, so buyers aren’t always getting beat out by cash buyers.
Another nice benefit for buyers is sellers are putting more work into getting their homes ready for market. Except for the flipper homes, for the most part, buyers can expect new paint, maybe new flooring and newer appliances. If a home isn’t up to their standards, they have 5 more that fit their dream list. And really, how many homes does a buyer need to buy, but one?
Typically, moving into Thanksgiving, our real estate market in Sacramento slows down for the winter. We are not likely to see a change in activity until probably March. This means home buyers have an excellent window of opportunity to find the home of their dreams, that perfect home in Sacramento. Interest rates are predicted to land in the 5.5 region next year, but for right now, they are hovering around 5%. Everything points to the best time to buy a home in Sacramento is over the next few months.
You can call the Elizabeth Weintraub Team at 916.233.6759. We’d love to help you find a home.
First-Time Home Buyers Will Love a Home in Rio Linda
If you want to love a home in Rio Linda, this is the perfect place for qualified first-time home buyers. First, it is affordable, and qualifies for FHA and VA financing. Maybe a buyer is using down payment assistance, which means the down payment might be zero if the buyer qualifies for certain programs. Second, the location is lovely. It’s located in a cul-de-sac, surrounded by neighbors who are crying at the moment because the present owners are moving away. Everybody seems to know everybody else. And third, the home is ready to move into. No work to do.
Well, saying there is no work to do can be subjective, depending on what a buyer wants. Let’s say they want new cabinets in the kitchen or maybe different counter tops. It’s not unusual for a buyer to want to customize her own home and make it fit her vision, not somebody else’s. In that case, there are also affordable renovation loans offered by Guild Mortgage, and they are easy to get. Guild streamlines the process so the renovation loan is rolled into the mortgage loan. How easy is that? Plus, you can still close on time, no delays necessary.
There is no reason not to love a home in Rio Linda like this. It features hardwood floors throughout, except for the kitchen and family room. Although the family room is a bonus room and not included in the square footage, the floors in that room are wood-like laminate. In addition, there is a floor-to-ceiling rock fireplace in that room. Makes for perfect TV viewing. The sellers are willing to leave some of the furnishings for the buyer at no cost or consideration nor warranty, of course.
This home has 3 bedrooms, 1 bath and a large fenced yard. It could incorporate RV parking if a buyer so desired, but it’s also perfect for dogs. There is a covered patio on the side of the house, too. If you are a buyer who wants to love a home in Rio Linda, you will not be disappointed.
6130 De Anza Ct, Rio Linda, CA 95673, is offered exclusively by Elizabeth Weintraub and Lyon Real Estate at $260,000. Call Elizabeth at 916.233.6759 for more information or a private tour.
The information in this advertisement, including, but not limited to, square footage and/or acreage, has been provided by various sources which may include the Seller, the Multiple Listing Service or other sources. Lyon Real Estate has not and will not investigate or verify the accuracy of this information. Prospective buyers are advised to conduct their own investigation of the Property and this advertised information utilizing appropriate professionals before purchasing this Property.
Sacramento Sellers Ask: Where Do Buyers Come From?
There are many myths in the Sacramento real estate business, including an assortment of wrong answers about where do buyers come from. Sellers tend to believe a myth because they don’t really know how real estate works. I’m also not so certain that some agents don’t feed into that myth. I often find myself unwinding twisted tales that sellers believe because some agent made up crap. You wouldn’t believe the stuff they say, or maybe you would. Sellers have told me that other agents swore up and down that they had tons of buyers waiting to purchase their home. That’s crazy. It’s nuts. And it’s not the truth.
If you want to know where do buyers come from, I can tell you. But first, let me explain where they don’t come from. They don’t come from listing with an agent who promises a bunch of buyers, for one thing. Because agents do not have a bunch of buyers in their back pockets. Now occasionally, a buyer will be looking for a certain type of home and will ask to be put on a list in case that type of home comes on the market for sale. Usually, that type of home is unique and rarely for sale. Other than that, agents do not have a bunch of eager and motivated buyers on hand. Why?
Because when a buyer is eager to purchase a home, qualified and motivated, guess what happens? That home buyer is in escrow within weeks if not days. We have plenty of inventory in Sacramento now, about double since the beginning of the year. Many choices. If a buyer wants to purchase a home, there are homes to be bought. That’s what we do as agents. We find homes for buyers to purchase and we close those sales.
But to truly answer the question where do buyers come from, is to understand how the real estate market works. First, the listing agent signs a listing agreement with sellers. The information for that home is uploaded to MLS. When MLS publishes the listing, that information is also downloaded to a bazillion other websites across the internet. Some websites such as Zillow might require tweaking by the listing agent. But for the most part, it’s done automatically.
Buyers then find the home for sale online and either call the listing agent or the smarter buyers will call their own buyer’s agent. Yet either way, the buyers find the home for sale because the listing agent is marketing the home. Buyers come from the listing agent’s marketing efforts and from MLS. They aren’t sleeping in the back of a real estate office waiting for a home to be listed. When I list your home, my goal is to find you a buyer. So that’s what I do and how it works.
Following up on Buyer Leads Before a Listing Hits MLS
You can bet one of my priorities for a new listing is following up on buyer leads. Just because I refuse to work directly with a buyer in dual agency doesn’t mean I won’t follow up or talk to buyers. Of course, buyers are free to choose any agent they want, and hopefully they will pick a professional agent with many closings under her or his belt. But I will also work with Uncle Joe’s cousin if that’s what it takes, knowing I’ll end up doing that agent’s job as well as mine, and it’s OK. Whatever it takes to sell a house is my method of operation. No prima donna here. I take more of a pragmatic view that as long as it leads to closing . . .
Yesterday was no exception. The ink isn’t inked yet on a new listing, yet I already had 2 different sets of buyers. Wasn’t planning on following up on buyer leads yesterday, but they were there in my face. One buyer was a neighbor next door. She approached me when I was attaching the lockbox to say how deeply disheartened she is that her friends are moving away. It was 11 AM and she was in her robe and slippers, but so what.
Since I wasn’t wearing a jacket — because I raced out of the house like we live in Hawaii — I shivered. Let her know if there was any trouble of any sort or questions arose, she could call me. My cell would be embedded on the sign rider in the yard. Then I dashed back inside to warm up as the photographer shot photos. A few minutes later, the neighbor knocked on the front door. Still in robe and slippers. Wanted to know how she could get a loan. Best guy in the business is Dan Tharp at Guild Mortgage. I brought up his contact info and got ready to hit “share contact.”
I’ll get a paper and pencil, the neighbor says. Just give me your cell number, I say, and I’ll forward you Dan’s contact information. A few minutes later, my cell phone rang. It was the neighbor. Hello, may I speak to Dan Tharp? she asked. I explain she can tap the contact icon in my text message to her, and it will download the contact information to her phone. Hey, not everybody knows these things.
Later, Dan tells me they had a good talk, and she seems to qualify for a loan. Although, an hour later, she decided against the loan process. But that’s OK. I go with the flow. It was a day to be following up on buyer leads. The sellers had another friend on the cul-de-sac who knew of an interested relative. Actually, I had tracked down and texted, emailed and called that relative’s agent the day before. However, the agent could not get around to calling me until the following day. Will it work out? I have no idea, but I follow up on buyer leads because it’s my job.
Leave no stone unturned. That’s what a Sacramento listing agent does. It wouldn’t be the first time I sold a listing to a neighbor, and it won’t be the last.
Buyers Who Call Listing Agents Now Have More Ways to Sue Dual Agents
Who isn’t looking for more ways to sue dual agents in California? I hear from a lot of real estate clients around the country who are upset with their agents, and many of those complaints center on dual agency. They read an article I wrote about dual agency or contingencies or some other legal matter in real estate and call. In case you don’t know, in simple terms, dual agency occurs when the seller’s agent is also the buyer’s agent. This is when sellers find out too late that paying their own agent to represent a buyer might not be in their best interest. Or, buyers discover that trying to manipulate a listing agent into divulging confidential information may have backfired. By attempting to buck the system, buyers may end up with no agent advocating for them.
The new document that will most likely cause more lawsuits by encouraging parties to sue dual agents in California is the revised Agency Disclosure. Its formal name is Disclosure Regarding Real Estate Agency Relationships. I say this because I know from observation how lackadaisical many listing agents are. So many just don’t consider ramifications or cause and effect much less consequences. In fact, it is so tough to be a dual agent that I prefer to pass on it.
Dual agency is not good for sellers nor for buyers and the only people who think it is are the dual agents themselves. Further, the main reason dual agents like dual agency is because they make twice the commission. No wonder some consumers hate real estate agents. It’s rare that dual agency is better for the parties. Usually the opposite.
New language in the Agency Disclosure sets out pretty clearly the confidentiality requirements. Agents are always required to keep this sort of information confidential (without written authorization), but in dual agency, they sometimes forget. Below is the verbiage, with the new changes in bold:
“In representing both Seller and Buyer, a dual agent may not, without the express permission of the respective party, disclose to the other party confidential information, including, but not limited to, facts relating to either the Buyer’s or Seller’s financial position, motivations, bargaining position, or other personal information that may impact price, including the Seller’s willingness to accept a price less than the listing price or the Buyer’s willingness to pay a price greater than the price offered.”
Agents are often made privy to confidential information about why sellers are selling, which is none of anybody’s business but the seller. This reduces dual agents to pretty much transaction facilitators. They can’t represent either party very well. The downside is buyers might think they don’t need representation but they certainly do. Never had a buyer say, “oh, we didn’t need you guys.” Just not gonna happen.
But what will happen, mark my words, is more parties will decide to sue dual agents because the agents will, without hesitation, disclose confidential information. I know this surely as the sun sets in the West.
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