You can't win them all - buyers be ready to move!

Unfortunately, we did not get the house our buyers were bidding on even though we were willing to pay $77,500 over the asking price - an almost 10% premium! There wound up being a total of NINE contracts offered on the property that had been on the market only three days! Although our buyer is disappointed, he understands that we did everything within reason to win the contract and to pay and offer more might not have been in his best interest. So be it. We'll keep looking for another gem in the rough.

After doing yet another evaluation of the property, it appears that the house actually sold for slightly more than it's true value. Having said that, it's true value is really what someone is willing to pay for it so in some regards that IS it's true value. It was very difficult to justify that price when doing comparables, but again, pricing is always somewhat suggestive. On speaking to the listing agent who we happen to know quite well, I asked how they came up with the selling number and her answer was that quite frankly she was somewhat affraid of all the negative news she had been hearing and it was important for the seller to realize a quick sale. It wasn't a brilliant marketing move, it was an effort to realize a quick sale on a good property. Yes, the property was priced slightly under market for the size, condition and neighborhhood, but not THAT much under market - lucky seller!

Again, pricing is everything - but you can't predict the response either - if you price a property on the low end of the scale hoping for a quick sale (and maybe even a bidding war as we had here), you also need to be prepared to accept the low price if only one offer comes in! A tough call on a seller's part.

So in just two days we have had multiple contracts on several properties and we have seen quite an increase in showings on our listings - and it's only January - hopefully the brisk spring market will prove the "nay-sayers" wrong.

As always BE INFORMED and CHECK BACK HERE OFTEN