Warmer weather brings out buyers

As we move into the first weekend of the year where we may have real warmth, it isn’t only the weather that is warming up, the struggling Sacramento real estate market is too.

I have been working with several buyers over the past few weeks attempting to locate the perfect house. Last weekend I was out with two of them looking at homes. My first client, Terry, has been looking for some time and is seeking a “first time buyer” type house in a nice neighborhood. We scheduled a stop at a house that had just gone on the market. By the time we got to the home, there was already an impressive pile of Realtor cards on the counter. It was a darling home, clean, in wonderful move-in condition and my client loved it. Before we got too far along I called the listing agent to get a status update. The house had only been on the market for a few days but the agent on the other end of the line explained that they had already received 22 offers and were not accepting anymore. Priced aggressively, this home was in very high demand.

Moving on with Terry, we decided to look at another home in the same neighborhood. This home was the same model as the one we had seen earlier, it was not in as good condition and it was priced higher. Terry liked the floor plan and neighborhood and decided to make an offer. Using the asking price of the “hot” house in the neighborhood we made an offer below the asking price. This is a bank owned property which has been on the market for over six months so we felt pretty good about the offer being accepted or at least countered.

Yesterday, I received word from the listing agent that Terry’s offer had been rejected by his client. When I called back to get more information he explained they got multiple offers over the weekend and accepted one that was over asking price. Terry and I will be back out looking at home again soon!

During the same weekend I was out with a family who are looking to buy their first home. They are looking at homes in a price range up to $350,000. At one of the homes there were several prospective buyers looking around. Turns out the listing agent had come by to show the house and since there was a steady flow of traffic decided to hold an Open House. She told me she had been there for several hours and during that time had not ever been alone. There was not even an “Open House” sign posted!

My family found what they believe is the perfect home in a Roseville neighborhood they love. The home is so clean it looks like it could be a model. We submitted an over asking price offer to make sure my clients would not lose this one. Unfortunately, we found out yesterday the seller has received multiple offers and we were asked to submit an addendum to increase our offer if we wanted to be considered. We strengthened our offer in several ways and now have our fingers crossed.

Spring is here, the weather is getting warmer and so is our downtrodden real estate market. The lower priced homes seem to be generating more activity than the mid and higher priced end of the market. Although it makes it a bit more difficult for my buyers it is nice to see houses with prospective buyers looking around and it must feel great to the sellers, some of whom have not had a showing in months.

Julie Jalone

If you or someone you know is considering buying, please feel free to contact me MagnumOne Realty office in Roseville at (916) 276-6883 and email at [email protected].

We specialize serving the needs of buyers and sellers of homes in the Roseville and Sacramento area including Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, Sutter and Yuba counties.

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