Email Elizabethhome selling during holidays
Two Christmas Miracles in Sacramento Real Estate
Two Christmas miracles have happened in Sacramento real estate during our holiday season. The first is a family moving across the country to North Carolina closed escrow on Friday without any hiccups. When I first looked at their property, which we sold them two years ago, I was concerned about the time frame. Having moved across country myself, I know what it’s like and what can go wrong.
We can’t always stop things from going wrong in an escrow, but after an agent has closed as many sales as I have — which is usually one or two a week — I can generally sense disaster. Often I can head-off trouble at inception. But sometimes buyers go sideways and as listing agents we have no control over those people.
I do know this, the last thing I ever want to have happen is for my sellers to be in the midst of loading boxes into a cross-country moving truck when I call to say we are not closing. These types of sales tend to make me a bit nervous. They have to go smoothly. But I had no idea I would receive two Christmas miracles this season.
After the buyers got a pest inspection and all of the other inspections, they asked for repairs. We were able to negotiate a flat credit to the buyer’s closing costs in-lieu-of-repairs. From the time the home went on the market to closing it was 35 days. Many homes in that neighborhood do not even sell in 30 days. But I worked with the sellers beforehand to ensure the home was in tip-top shape and desirable.
The second of two Christmas miracles was receiving an offer for a property other agents said would never sell. But there is always another buyer for fixers in Sacramento. One closing and another transaction going into escrow. It is indeed a harmonious season, and homes are selling, even on Christmas Day.
Now I am off to our neighbor’s house for a Hawaiian feast with good friends in Kona. Perfect time to try the Macadamia Nut Honey Wine from Volcano Winery with dessert. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Kwanzaa and whatever else coincides with celebrations this week!
Selling Sacramento Short Sales in December
I will see you four Bank of America short sales and raise you one Wells Fargo short sale. Selling Sacramento short sales is like playing poker and winning all of the time. So far this December I have closed 5 short sales in Sacramento, six if you count an intense client whom I referred to a Sacramento short sale agent better suited to handle the more colorful characters. Before the month ends, another 6 of my short sales will close, bringing my total for the month to seven Bank of America short sales, three Wells Fargo short sales and an SLS short sale. That’s not a bad December for December being a relatively slow month, even without a partridge in a pear tree.
Most people who do a short sale can choose when to list their home as a short sale. Since there are historically fewer numbers of people who are willing to cross the desert barefoot and without water to do a short sale, it’s better to put a home like that on the market when there are larger numbers of buyers available. There will be larger numbers of buyers in January than in December.
Yes, I realize there is no inventory in Sacramento. As such, I am careful to keep my fingers out of its hot oil when I gingerly drop a home for sale into it and step away from the stove. After it’s a golden color, I scoop it up and let it cool on paper towels. If it’s not cooked all the way through, I cook it longer on one side, even if it’s a little browner, because people only see the golden side when they eat it. I’m pretty darned organized.
I’ve got my real estate predictions for 2013 completed. I expect to list a lot of homes in Sacramento this coming January and February. Probably not enough homes to meet the pent-up demand. Interest rates are extremely attractive, under 4%, and the government announced it intends to keep rates low until unemployment dips to 6.5%, which will be a very long time. But when it comes to a short sale, people can decide the best time to list a home, and that time is not around the holidays. Selling during the holidays is not really necessary for most people. Which means this Sacramento short sale agent can take a vacation. Yowsa!
Don’t think I am going hogwild off the beaten path, though, I am bringing my laptop.
