Dear
Pat,
Is it just my perception, or is the recent home
buying frenzy beginning to die out? Our friends
finally got an offer, not quite up to their
asking price, after 8 days on the market. What
happened to multiple offers? We're going on the
market soon, and we're concerned that it may be
. . .
--Too Late For Us
Dear Too Late,
Not to worry, house prices in Seward/Longfellow
are alive and well. The "frenzy" you
long for (a sentiment not shared by frustrated
buyers, or their agents) occurs most often in
the first quarter of the year. For some
mysterious reason the months of January and
February feel like Spring to buyers, while still
chilling sellers to the bone. Thus every winter
we experience a rush of buyers searching
furiously through a relatively small selection
of available houses, and competing with offers
often far above the asking price. Later, in the
Spring, inventory begins to catch up to demand
and fewer multiple offer situations occur.
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But the law of supply and demand isn't the only
factor affecting your perception, Too Late.
Equally important is the way we price homes in
the first place: no one knows how high the
market will rise in the new year until the
houses start selling, so early-year prices are
based on the past year, with a little added in
anticipation of high demand. It's not unlike an
auction, when bidding from buyers ultimately
determines value. Realtors carefully watch the
final prices of these early-year sales, as they
perform market evaluations for sellers in the
Spring. So a house placed on the market in May
is likely to be listed at a price equal to what
multiple offers brought a similar home in
February. If multiples occur less often after
the first quarter it's simply because the price
increase has already been established-in other
words, your friends probably sold their home for
more money than any of us thought possible in
January, before the first homes sold this year.
| Pat
Rosaves is a full-time real estate
professional living in the Seward -
Longfellow area. She has more than 24
years experience in helping people with
their real estate needs. Questions may be
sent to her at River Realty, 2543 38th
Avenue South, Mpls, MN 55406. Or call her
at 612-724-1314 or email her at
pat@riverrealty.net
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