In Defense of Multiple Offers from Sacramento Home Buyers

The biscuit recipe for Sacramento home buyers that is guaranteed to drive multiple offers in the Sacramento real estate market goes like this: add 2 cups of a highly desirable home in the right location, perfect condition and priced well, toss in a pinch of salt representing all of the other homes for sale in that particular neighborhood (none), stir in 2 teaspoons of pending sales, cut in a stick of low interest rates and blend well with a cup of eager Sacramento home buyers. Drop on to a Sunday open house and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes — within 2 hours they’ll be history.

Our Sacramento real estate market reflects low inventory, low interest rates and a high demand from buyers. Sacramento home buyers, who often say things like: I don’t want to be involved in a multiple offer situation. It makes me wonder what they mean. Do they want to buy a home that nobody else wants? Some ugly dog that is overpriced and under-loved? Is that it? Because there are some of those homes for sale in Sacramento, and nobody is trying to buy those homes. The field is wide open for that kind of home. No competition for that stuff.

Don’t they want to be the winning bidder for a home that everybody drooled over but only they were smart enough and lucky enough to win? One thing is for certain when a home buyer goes into contract in these situations: when the time comes to sell that home down the road — maybe not next year, maybe not in 10 years, but eventually when that buyer turns into a seller — that same intense interest from buyers will still exist. The home will hold its appeal. Your hair might start to turn gray by then and your body might run off southbound, but that home will still be alluring, even after the Sacramento real estate market cools.

That extra $5,000 or whatever a multiple-offer might cost, can be the difference between owning a home or not owning a home. Think how less important that will seem 5 years, 10 years from now. Sure, your emotional conscience might be fighting a losing battle by telling you not to pay more than list price, but what if the list price is low to start with? Listen to your logical, rational side. What do the comparable sales reflect? Because remember, the home will most likely still need to appraise. It matters less what the list price is and matters more the value of the home.

And let’s not forget about appreciation. Home prices are on an upward swing right now.

I also wonder if “I don’t want to be involved in multiple offers” means the buyers intend to lowball the sales price and realize they can’t possibly win with that strategy when other buyers are offering more than list price. Of course, if that’s the case, they are not buying a highly desirable home in the Sacramento real estate market this spring.

I’ve heard agents say they think sellers are greedy when multiple offers occur. As though somehow it is the seller’s fault for maintaining such a beautiful home in pristine condition. It’s not the sellers who are driving the marketplace; it’s the buyers. Buyers establish final value. My advice is don’t worry about what everybody else is doing. Focus on yourself. Write your best purchase offer and call it a day. Don’t wander about wondering “what if” . . .