Currently the real estate market has sellers thinking they can set the terms while cashing out. I have found the biggest problem for sellers is deciding where to go after selling.
On the buy side buyers are feeling hopeless. Many have put in so many offers without success that they have grown frustrated and started to sit on the sidelines or have pause their search waiting and hoping for things to slow down.
The market is extremely challenging in different ways for both buyers and sellers. There are certain thoughts or myths circulating out there they we intend to examine.
Seller Myth #1: No Prep Work is Necessary
Sellers think that because inventory is low, and companions is so fierce that all they have to do is list and do an Open House and the house will automatically sell.This is wrong. Buyers still need to see a clean and well-presented home that helps to inspire confidence that they aren’t buying a money pit.
A home that appears dirty, messy and not well maintained may cost a seller money in terms of fewer offers and less aggressive ones at that
Seller Myth #2: There is No Price too Crazy
Along with not having to properly prepare their home for sale, sellers are all about defying the odds and wanting to set an overly ambitious asking price. In a market like this, sometimes an overly ambitious price might stick and other times it might not. If the price is too high the market willed you know within the first week.
Seller Myth #3: Post-closing occupancy is guaranteed.
Lenders will typically allow a seller to stay in a home up to 60 days past the closing date. Anything beyond that could trigger the property to be considered investment property and the buyer could be charged a higher interest rate. Not a desirable situation for buyer.
Seller Myth #4: Buyers must waive contingencies.
The single largest transaction someone makes in their lifetime can cause a ton of anxiety already, let alone risking waiving the inspection, appraisal and financing with it. Having this attitude may scare off and eliminate solid buyers from consideration who don’t want to gamble.
Seller Myth #5: Will wait till market prices come down.
Many buyers decided even as far back as a year ago that they would sit out the pandemic real estate boom because prices were getting too high, were unattainable, and they believed that prices would come down. Those same buyers are paying significantly more for the same properties than they would have a year ago, not to mention interest rates being one to one and a half percent higher.
What buyers don’t understand is it’s not just about high prices, but rather about low inventory which has been continuing well into 2022. In some cases, inventory levels are worse than before.