It’s true that we are not in the peak of the market boom we were in the past couple of years. But that doesn’t mean buyers suddenly hold all the power like some seem to think. In fact, there are still a lot of markets (like Philly, for example) where the market is still hot and it is certainly still a seller’s market.
A mistake that I am seeing right now is that buyers are getting a little ahead of themselves, cocky even. Buyers are thinking they hold power again and are coming to the table with lowball offers, expecting them to be accepted without any sort of push-back or possible bidding war situation.
We are not in a market where we can assume that sellers don’t have any leverage. Part of the problem is many read their Yahoo! or Google news feeds with their blanket statements and cover-all observations and assume that represents their local market. This is a BIG country folks and additionally, the writer of those articles are incentivized to provide content that gets clicks.
Speaking for Philly specifically, the market for houses in the range of 300-850k is still very hot. Buyers still need to come in with strong offers and prepare for a bidding war. You still need to be interest rate conscience, level-headed and don’t make assumptions that it’s going to go in your favor automatically, you likely still face steep competition.
All this to say, don’t be that buyer who gets cocky and loses out on something because your offer isn’t strong enough. Know your specific market, or at least take your agent’s word for it if they are telling you that your offer is weak. While you are at it, stay off Yahoo. If you are feeling uncertain or want to talk about the market, give me a call. My team is ready and equipped to lead you through the process, no matter what the market looks like.
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