A few weeks ago I blogged about the super-low housing inventory. This low supply has caused bidding-wars, and many buyers are throwing caution to the wind, submitting offers higher than list price, and dealing with the appraisal issues later. A large percentage of these buyers remove appraisal and loan contingencies long before the appraisal has even been ordered. That's a great way to get an offer accepted these days, as long as the buyers understands that they will have to bring more money to the table, and possibly have unexpected mortgage insurance costs too.
Although prices are rising, they are still generally much lower than years past, and with interest rates being the lowest that they've ever been, it remains a seller's market here in Irvine and beyond.
A buyer client of mine was out-bid on an offer he made, (2% higher than list price), and the sellers accepted an offer 5.2% higher than their asking price! I knew that I had to find him a property that matched his wish-list although there were no other properties listed. I do this for my buyer clients.
How do I find listings when they do not exist? Well, there are a few ways, and without giving away all my secrets, let me tell you how I found this buyer a home. I wrote a letter to all homeowners in the tract that my buyer liked, explaining our challenge, and then, a couple of days later, I put on my walking shoes, and started door-knocking.
I've had good results doing this in the past. Some homeowners are skeptical, thinking that my intention was to get a regular listing, and that my buyers don't even exist. However, after explaining that a "one-party-show" agreement was only for a couple of days, didn't tie them up for months on end, and either the buyers liked the house and submitted an offer.... or they don't! No harm - no foul. Everyone moves on.
We close escrow on the "one party show" listing today! Both my buyer and seller are very happy and the transaction was an extremely smooth one.
Sellers who like the idea of a "one party show" are made to understand that it's likely that they'd sell their house for a higher price if they exposed it to all buyers, rather than just to one buyer. For a regular listing, I advertize on hundreds of websites as well as in print, with direct mail, and more. Most "one-party-show" sellers prefer not to have to keep their homes spic and span, not to have to vacate the house during showings and open houses.
22 Woodbridge homes sold in September 2012, at prices from $290K, (for a 2 bedroom short sale condo at 218 Greenmoor), to $950K for 21 Bayside, a 4 bedroom standard sale SFR.
Right now, there are only 33 Woodbridge homes listed for sale!
The prices of Woodbridge homes for sale right now, range from $355K for a 3 bedroom 1,135 square foot attached condo at 193 Briarwood, (standard sale), to $1,750,000 for a 2 bedroom 3,363 square foot SFR AT 18 Bayview!
42 are in escrow, (Pending or Backup Offers status), at a total list price of $19.4 million.
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