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Buying and selling a home, Buying or selling, Moving, Post Pandemic Real Estate Trends, Pricing your home right, Real estate, Real Estate agent, Real estate and home ownership, Real estate market outlook, Running and real estate, Sacramento buyers, Sacramento real estate, Sacramento sellers, Sacramento spring market, Sacramento spring real estate market, Seller's market, Selling Your Home

FOUR POST PANDEMIC REAL ESTATE TRENDS

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The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly of Our Post Pandemic Real Estate Market

I like to compare our 2021 Sacramento real estate market to one wild roller coaster ride that besides having twists, turns, and upside down loops sending thrill seekers on the verge of fear and elation, it also has unexpected highs and lows that I correlate to our high real estate prices and extremely low interest rates oftentimes below 3 percent. Our real estate market’s frenzy and desperation, especially on the buyers’ side, is directly related to the sudden decline in housing inventory at the beginning of 2021.

Needless to say, I have never experienced this bidding war before in my 21 years in the business as a real estate broker. And how ugly are these bidding wars? How much over the asking price is enough, you might ask? I have had an offer accepted for my buyers at $50,000 over the asking price, and we had to remove appraisal and loan contingencies to be the winning bid.

The good: offer accepted for my happy clients! The bad: $50,000 over the asking price no matter of the appraised value. The ugly: I have submitted about 15 offers for my buyers before their offer got accepted for $425,000, which is such a hot price point. However, with patience, perseverance, and my professional guidance, my clients are happy homeowners. And in the case of other buyers of mine, I got their offer accepted on the very first try, so some luck never hurts.

This wild roller coaster ride has resulted in the following four unique real estate trends:

  1. Million-dollar home sales have had a 126.92% increase since last year. Additionally, as Ryan Lundquist, our local appraiser expert points out in his Sacramento Appraisal blog, there were 94.9 percent more sales above the $750,000 and 27.3 percent fewer sales under $400,000 price range. We have highs in our real estate market not seen since 2006.
  2. The prevalence of the ADU – an Accessory Dwelling Unit is a permanent dwelling unit that may share at least one wall with the primary residence (attached) or be a stand-alone structure (detached) from the primary residence. ADUs provide permanent facilities for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation.), or little homes built in the backyard of the main house, as the city of Sacramento is willing to approve ADUs either one home up to 1,200 sq. ft., or two homes 600 sq. ft. each depending on the lot size and setbacks. The approval of the ADUs is an important step in increasing price affordability and addressing Sacramento’s scarce inventory – see more info in my interview about the tiny homes trend with KCRA news.
  3. The big migration, which according to a LinkedIn data, show more workers moving to smaller US cities and away from larger cities in 2020 compared to 2019. Sacramento is in top five smaller US cities as far as positive growth in inflow over outflow of workers.
  4. Sellers’ confidence expected to grow as vaccine distribution is in full force, providing more peace of mind to sellers looking to make their move. According to Zillow economists, who show that 63 percent of sellers are also buyers, sellers’ mobility has increased for the following reasons: their desires to upgrade or upsize their homes, move to different neighborhoods, downsizing, and wanting a better work from home situation. 

For more information on the ADUs and the tiny homes and what type of approval process you need to have one in your backyards, stay tuned, as I will have a meeting with the city and county officials next week!

For more inspiration on how to let “AIR,” which stands for adaptation, inspiration, and resilience guide and uplift you during these uncertain and crazy times, please consider buying my print edition or e-book The PR- The Poetics of Running, A Book of Poetry in Motion on Amazon, or buy it straight from my blog by clicking on my books link, which will take you to Amazon. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book is going to Girls on the Run Sacramento chapter organization.

For more info on running and real estate, whether buying or selling, please e-mail me at carmenmicsa@yahoo.com, or call me at 916-342-2446. Also mention this blog and receive a great offer whether buying (credit for closing costs), or selling (commission discount). Running for real estate with joy!

Real estate, Real Estate agent, Real estate and home ownership, Real estate market outlook, Running and real estate, Sacramento buyers, Sacramento real estate, Sacramento sellers, Seller's market, Selling Your Home, Selling your Home Faster with Staging

Sacramento Real Estate Inventory Low – Six Ways A Good Real Estate Agent Can Help You Find the Right Home and Beat Out the Competition

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After 20 years in the business as a real estate broker, helping buyers and sellers, I am just as baffled as you are by our Sacramento real estate market. What is going on? Weren’t prices supposed to go down? Not really! For instance, in August our real estate prices have reached the highest point in more than a decade. Sacramento county’s median price was $425,000 up from $386,000 last year in August, Placer County was $538,750 up from $500,000, and El Dorado County $570,000 from $525,000.

My new listing in Elk Grove. This beautiful Laguna home with Quartz countertops is very well-priced at $429,000. Showing appointments available!

Low Inventory

According to my esteemed appraiser colleague, Ryan Lundquist, our shortage of homes available for sale is due to a few important factors, as he explains in his blog Why is Housing Inventory so Low?

  1. Our pandemic – sellers are reluctant to put their homes on the market and have a bunch of strangers come through their homes.
  2. More demand from buyers due to historical low interest rates below 3 percent.
  3. Lack of new construction and not having enough building units available.
  4. Shift in demographics, as people choose to live in their homes longer.
  5. Increased migration, as Californians move to Idaho, Texas, and Nevada the most, and some Bay Area residents move to Sacramento, where home prices are much more affordable.

Six Ways A Real Estate Agent Can Help you Become a Homeowner in our tight Market

  1. My favorite way to find homes for my buyers when our listing inventory is tight is to walk the neighborhood they are interested in and drop off flyers telling homeowners that I have a qualified buyer ready to buy. Over the years I found a few homes this way and my buyers were able to buy the house without having to overbid, or deal with multiple offers.
  2. Social media is a great way to connect people and their needs.
  3. For sale by owners are another great way to find homes that are not listed on the MLS. When dealing with for sale by owners, or sellers who want to sell on their own, it is important to have an agent represent you as the buyer, making sure that you are guided by a professional and that you don’t end up having problems in the future due to repairs, or lack of proper disclosure from the sellers.
  4. Expired listings have also been a great way for me to help my buyers find homes and negotiate down on the price for them, since these are homes that used to be on the market and did not sell. Once again, a good agent, who is willing to go the extra mile for you, can sure help you find a good home by searching the MLS data for you.
  5. Pocket Listings are another great way to find listings that will soon hit the market, but the agents have not listed the homes on the MLS yet. As a real estate broker, I have numerous connections and do a lot of networking with other professionals like myself, and I can sometimes find my clients the right home before it even hits the market.
  6. Calling neighbors who are not on the do not call list on behalf of my clients and letting them know that I have a client looking to buy and move in the neighborhood.

To sum things up, when our market is so heated up and our listing inventory low, it is time to work with the best agent, who will find creative ways to help you find and buy the right home, so feel free to call me or text me, and I would love to help you. However, before getting serious about buying a home, the first and most important step is getting pre-approved by a good lender, who will guide you through the whole process and give you an estimate of your monthly payments. One of my preferred lenders is Eric Elovski with Essex Mortgage, and you can apply directly on his website http://www.ericwillclose.com to get pre-approved for the loan.

For more info on running and real estate, whether buying or selling, please e-mail me at carmenmicsa@yahoo.com, or call me at 916-342-2446. Also mention this blog and receive a great offer whether buying (credit for closing costs), or selling (commission discount). Running for real estate with joy!

Buying and selling a home, Contract negotiating when buying or selling a home, Home inspections, Real estate, Running and real estate, Sacramento buyers, Sacramento real estate, Sacramento sellers

Important Real Estate Question Answered for Buyers and Sellers – Sacramento Hot Real Estate Market

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“How is our Sacramento real estate market?” is a question I get quite frequently when talking to friends, past and new clients. Before elaborating on this question, I try to start with a simple answer, such as : “Well, it is a seller’s market right now.” This straight forward statement is immediately understood, but oddly enough, I have come across seasoned agents who still do not explain our purchase agreements to their buyers correctly and honestly.

 

One of my listings that I have sold for my sellers in three days with multiple offers. Yet, the buyer asked for $5,000 credit for repairs following the home and pest inspections, even though the repairs were quite minor. Their intention was to renegotiate on the price after the inspections, which should not be a buyer’s focus or hope when making an offer.

 

I have recently sold properties in Auburn, Rancho Cordova, Carmichael and acted as the listing agent, meaning that I represented the seller. On all the listings, I received offers at or above asking price with no mention about repairs on them, which is why I want to answer and clarify the following question for future homeowners, as well as sellers.

 

  1. Is the seller obligated to do repairs for the buyer after buyer’s home and pest inspections to name just a few?

    The answer is: NO. The seller can certainly choose to do some repairs, all, or no repairs based on the “as is” clause, or paragraph 16 that is in our contracts. Yet,  most selling, or buyers’ agents do not bother to explain this clause to their buyers, who will get upset and frustrated later, if sellers do not agree to do repairs.

16. CONDITION OF PROPERTY: Unless otherwise agreed in writing: (i) the Property is sold (a) “AS-IS” in its PRESENT physical condition as of the date of Acceptance and (b) subject to Buyer’s Investigation rights; (ii) the Property, including pool, spa, landscaping and grounds, is to be maintained in substantially the same condition as on the date of Acceptance; and (iii) all debris and personal property not included in the sale shall be removed by Close Of Escrow.

With older homes there are more items that home inspectors point out on their reports. However,  our purchase contracts are written as is. You can always try to negotiate, but sellers do not have to agree.

 

The moral of the story for buyers and sellers:

 

  1. Buyers – Do not expect the sellers to bend over backwards to do repairs, or offer a credit. Be reasonable if you do ask for repairs and evaluate the repairs needed before making an offer in case sellers will not agree to do these repairs after your inspections.
  2. Sellers – I hope you will work with an agent who will fight for every dollar on your behalf and who will not make you do unnecessary repairs, especially if you are selling your home at a great price and have had multiple offers. Have your agents negotiate on your behalf, and feel free to refuse doing minor/petty repairs that come across on the famous, or most precisely, infamous Request for Repairs form. Yet, be flexible with repairs that are major or safety items, as it is not always easy to start with a new buyer and it will definitely delay the close of escrow.

 

For more info on running and real estate, whether buying or selling, please e-mail me at carmenmicsa@yahoo.com, or call me at 916-342-2446. Running for real estate with joy!