Email Elizabethsacramento home buyers
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” . . .
The February 2020 Sacramento Area Housing Report
The February 2020 Sacramento Area Housing Report, everyone is talking about it. Wall Street is in meltdown, toilet paper doesn’t exist at Costco and my friend just in a panic bought three firearms. Whoa! The majority of us are handling this current COVID-19 virus pretty well. Others, are of course being impacted on a variety of levels. There will always be different ranges of reactions. When isolated, it is often challenging to know the reality of the housing market. This blog serves to be a source of information. So let’s talk about interest rates. Yes, they spiked up slightly (still under 4%) a week after they dropped to a record low 3.13%. This is in part to a backlog of loan applications (up 55%) that lenders cannot keep up with.
The only tool the lenders have to slow down the demand for refinancing and purchase loans is to raise their rates. This goes against the way it is supposed to work naturally. I took this past weekend to swim in a tub of coffee, scour housing reports and talk to resources to find out what is happening. These efforts are to provide you with the clearest picture of what is developing in the housing market. The verdict, demand is still very high and mortgage rates should fall back down to an extreme low once lenders get through these files and applications.
High demand for homes is still present. Sacramento is still in as much in demand as it has been over the last several years. This virus has not changed that. The housing market is absolutely on fire, not by opinion, but by the numbers. It was going strong before the COVID-19, but now, prices and demand shown below in the February 2020 Sacramento Housing Market Report are through the roof. The market is always good for someone. It is always prudent to hire the best real estate team and put a plan together whenever possible.
Real estate is historically a safe haven for investment during times of crisis and now even professional investors from abroad are putting money into US real estate to sidestep public markets, that are shedding value. These people watch their money very carefully and it is their daily job to monitor it. I think watching what they are doing is a good indicator of the overall health of the market. It is actually driving our market even harder!
This virus came on fast, and it is understandable that folks would be a little freaked out. But when the dust settles as systems are being put into place to defeat this situation, the humming of the housing market will return to that recognizable “hum.” There is just so much noise right now it may not be as easy to hear it. Based on the numbers, this is not a time to fear buying real estate; but of course, always be sure to have a great real estate team.
Life is not all flowers and banana’s, of course. Many people are suffering right now. Empathy is overflowing from our homes to all of those hurting right now. So many people will be keeping things moving, for the benefit of countless families and industries. We are so lacking in inventory. New listings are down 3.3% from last month and 3.5% from a year ago and sales are down a whopping 41.3%. I imagine some Realtors will be leaving the business this year based on the housing shortage and multiple offers making it a very competitive market. Did I mention we have over 100 years of experience, dozens of awards?
The picture is clear there were 14% more accepted offers in February 2020 over February 2019. This was a 10.8% increase in Median home prices from February 2019 to February 2020 in Sacramento County. That is a 5.3% increase from January to February alone. We don’t even know what the future holds, but owning a home is a part of the American dream for so many. Many first time buyers are choosing to buy instead of rent as it is more affordable in some cases. This is supply and demand, the same story we have been telling for years.
February 2020 is looking at the percentage of what sellers are getting vs what they ask at 99%. The spring market started last month, folks. A well oiled, well-connected machine like the Weintraub & Wallace real estate team is the best tool you can have in your tool belt, this year. When the gloves come off, your nails better look nice.
If you want to hire a top producing team of highly skilled and experienced Realtors, call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors with RE/MAX Gold We can be reached at 916-233-6759.
— Josh Amolsch
What It’s Like to Be a Sacramento Home Buyer’s Realtor
To be a successful Sacramento home buyer’s Realtor is a very important job. Because many agents sell homes, it does not mean they are excellent at their job. Selling homes takes two agents: a listing agent and a buyer’s agent. Often the stronger agent will get the job done for both sides. How can a seller’s agent help a buyer’s agent? Great question.
As a listing agent, we make sure the time frames and contracts are completed, along with all the disclosures and reports. We can explain in detail how and why we are taking action. We make sure we have a 100% complete file and stellar record of all communications. Even if the buyer’s agent doesn’t know what she or he is doing, we will get the transaction completed, regardless. They can’t miss an important milestone, as we won’t let them.
Another great question along this same theme is a post written by my partner, Elizabeth Weintraub, in September 2012: What it’s like to be a Sacramento home buyer? An excerpt is in italics below.
It’s up to real estate agents to explain to potential home buyers what the market is like in Sacramento. Tell them what they can expect. I tell it to them straight. I figure it’s better that they be prepared than shocked. Don’t need anybody having a heart attack and dropping dead at my feet.
Because, maybe this is NOT the time for them to buy a home. I know I would NOT want to be a home buyer in Sacramento today. That’s the truth. Because there is tremendous competition for the same homes. It’s an extreme seller’s market. Many buyers, little inventory. Many all cash buyers who will outbid an FHA or VA buyer. Multiple offers are normal right now. This is a sizzling hot market! — Elizabeth Weintraub
To be a Sacramento home buyer’s Realtor is a lot more than writing contracts. It is about knowing the inventory and knowing the numbers. If your agent doesn’t know the amount of inventory, the pending sales and days on the market, how can the agent possibly guide you effectively through the process and write successful offers? Our buyer’s agents are seasoned pros and they study the market daily.
I received an offer yesterday and it was 10% low on a property that is priced for a quick sale. No letter of explanation nothing. I asked the agent his strategy about why he wrote such a below-market offer? The answer, oh that’s what the buyers wanted to offer. This means the buyer’s agent didn’t inform the client that the inventory is 35% low compared to last year. The listed properties are selling for 97% of list price throughout Sacramento. Had this agent educated her client they might be looking at acceptance in-lieu-of rejection.
You can count on our team, so call today. We at Weintraub & Wallace Realtors, with RE/MAX Gold, look forward to helping you obtain home-ownership. Call us today at 916-233-6759.
— JaCi Wallace
Buyers Do Not Care What You Tell Them as Long As You Do
Buyers don’t care what you tell them as long as you tell them. That’s my opening statement when I hand home sellers a package of disclosures to complete. It’s the things you don’t tell a buyer that can come back to haunt you, not what you do say.
You take a neighborhood where I live and work like Land Park. Because I live in Land Park, I have intimate knowledge about the neighborhood, which agents who live outside of Land Park probably don’t know. If they don’t know, they can’t disclose those facts to a buyer. Although, it could probably be argued that they should know or should at least have asked questions of the seller.
On the front end of my marketing, I sell the delights of living in Land Park — the friendly neighbors, tree-canopied streets, fabulous restaurants and our special attractions such as William Land Park, the Sacramento Zoo, Fairy Tale Town, the Rock Garden, and Vic’s ice cream.
But there is also a downside — as there is with any neighborhood, I don’t care where you live. For example, I know which areas in Land Park routinely flood during a hard rain. I know where the feral cats, skunks, opossums and raccoons roam. Which streets get foot traffic and the origination of that traffic. When noise factors such as trains or freeways can be present. Parking ordinances. Which trees are protected. Selling homes in Land Park means more than what we used to call selling real estate in the old days: selling carpets and drapes. That used to be the definition of residential real estate sales in the 1970s.
The thing all Land Park agents know is after escrow closes, odds are something in that buyer’s new home will probably malfunction. And the minute it does, the buyer is likely to immediately jump to the conclusion that the seller knew about it and purposely withheld that information or concealed that defect. It’s human nature. We’re a suspicious bunch of people.
So, how do you bump up the odds that you won’t get sued after escrow closes? You hire an agent who can explain the inherent problems with some types of seller disclosures and can give you the right documents. You find an agent who knows the nuances of your neighborhood. I tell my sellers to disclose all material facts. If I know a material fact, I disclose it. I go into great detail about what a material fact is and why it’s important. I help sellers to recollect and disclose. We talk about the Transfer Disclosure Statement. Because buyers don’t care what you tell them as long as you do.
The other day a seller objected to a point I made in a disclosure. She wanted me to remove a sentence about the possibility that a neighbor’s dog might bark. No can do. The tenant told me the dog next door barked. I don’t know if the dog barks. The dog wasn’t barking in my presence. I noted that I did not hear the dog barking but the tenant said the dog barks and I will not investigate. This disclosure doesn’t appear in my marketing materials. It appears on the agent visual inspection, on which I obtain the buyer’s signature, along with a pile of other documents after offer acceptance.
I’m always thinking one step ahead of ways to protect my sellers yet conform to the law. That’s my job, and I take my job seriously.
The point is it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. I don’t want my sellers ever ending up in court. Not if I can help it. And I can. Because buyers don’t care what you tell them as long as you do.
Elizabeth is traveling today.
What Buyers Should Do After Moving into a Home
Within the last week or so, I’ve been thinking about what buyers should do after moving into a home. It’s an assignment for The Balance. As my team members yesterday afternoon focused on our Elizabeth Weintraub Team Sunday open houses, I used that time to write an article for The Balance. Many of you might not know that I write for The Balance. That company had been About.com in 2006, which was owned by the New York Times, when I started working for that website on the side. Before that it was the Mining Company.
I know, you’re probably wondering how do I routinely sell $30 million a year and still find time to work a second job? Organization and passion is my response to that.
We were early pioneers. Since then, and especially from being a source others copied, meant that website has today morphed into many different things, with its 1,000 or so experts now split into vertical channels. All the SEO experts agree it better reflects what we are about. My position as the Home Buying Expert also entails other writing duties for the company. However, lately I’ve been toying with the idea of not writing for them anymore. I’m not compensated enough, not like I was initially. It’s a huge commitment to set aside huge chunks of my life to write. But then I love to write about real estate, and the topics they suggest are usually near and dear to my heart.
The latest article I wrote on Sunday is First Things to Do After Moving into a Home. You may enjoy it because I have unique perspectives, at least for a short time before somebody else plagiarizes my stuff. One of the things about that piece that really struck home for me was how people rarely change the locks after moving into a home. This is one of the first things after moving into a home that needs attention. I heard from a buyer’s agent last week whose buyers allegedly had personal items removed from the home. This resulted in a big problem after closing, presumably by a relative with a key.
You don’t know how many keys are out there. Petsitters. Housekeepers. Children’s friends. The neighbors, and let’s not forget the keys hidden in the yard just in case you get locked out.
It is very inexpensive to hire a locksmith. Just make an appointment with a locksmith the day prior to closing. The locksmith will meet you at the house. Your agent will remove the key from the lockbox and use that to enter the premises. Then, the locksmith, right there on the spot can change all the locks in the house to be used with one key. A different key. It takes about 20 minutes.
So while you’re walking through the house with your agent, marveling at all the space and discussing where you will place your furniture or the colors you will paint the walls, you could have brand new keys to secure the home in under half an hour. For about $100 or so. Prices will vary.
If you do nothing else when moving into a home, at least do this one important thing first and change the locks. Ask your Sacramento Realtor for a referral to a locksmith.
