"You Snooze you Lose" if you are in the market to buy a foreclosure or short sale in the Ann Arbor Area market. Yesterday, I told my team "We are in a sellers market for foreclosure's and short sales."
Two weekends ago, I was in Norfolk, Va saying good-bye to my son who left for a 6 month cruise on the Dwight D. Eisenhower. While there I got a call from one of my Buyer Agents.
"Missy, I'm sorry I have to bother you, but I just tried to set up 5 showings for yesterday, they were all already under contract." "Is it that crazy out there?"
Yes it is
Another of my buyer agents has written 5 offers on 5 separate homes for her clients who just finished law school and are First Time Home-buyers. I said five and the homes were already gone.
Another buyer agent showed a home the evening of the day it came on the market. She called the listing agent and it was available with no offers. They saw the home that night, wrote $10,000.00 over asking price, that night. She submitted the offer and promptly got a call from the listing agent and was told they already had 3 offers and hers was in third place.
I'm not sure how it is in other parts of the country but that is what is happening in Ann Arbor and the surrounding area's in Washtenaw County. However, it just happened to my friend Fran Gatti in Crescent City, CA.
So we are back to a sellers market:
- Shortage of Inventory
- Multiple Offers
- Convincing Seller to offer over asking price
I remember those days....
Having not experienced a sellers market in Ann Arbor Area since 2001, it is good to remember some of the challenges that came with a sellers market.
There has been a lot of discussion on who to blame for the downturn in the housing market with...Lenders, Appraisers and Realtors getting tossed into the mix.
But, let's not forget the buyers were grabbing up homes, and over-bidding on homes with multiple offers.
The demand created by the nature of a sellers market, and a shortage of inventory drove those prices up.
If you are a home-buyer in Ann Arbor and want to purchase a short-sale or forclosure in the Ann Arbor Area:
- Be prepard to look at the home the minute it hits the market.
- If you love the home, be willing to write the highest and best offer on the spot.
- Realize you will probably be competing with other home-buyers that want the same home.
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Missy Caulk & Team can be reached at 734-216-2822 or email: Missy@MissyCaulk.com
Our TEAM of 6 buyer associates are available to help you relocate to Ann Arbor, Saline, Dexter, Chelsea, Milan, Ypsilanti Township, Clinton, Manchester, Whitmore Lake, or throughout Washtenaw County, MI.
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Missy Caulk & Team can be reached at 734-926-9797 or email: Missy@MissyCaulk.com
Our Team of 6 agents are available to help you relocate to Ann Arbor, Saline, Dexter, Chelsea, Milan, Ypsilanti Township, Clinton, Manchester, Whitmore Lake, or throughout Washtenaw County, MI.
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Stay strong, stay faithful, stay honest, stay loving, stay true to who you are, most importantly stay true to who God is as you'll be who you are, and you'll be happy, you'll be you, you'll be free. -Jamie Caulk
Great...I wonder how the over asking offers will appraise...let us know...!
There are very few foreclosures available in this area as well. What a great time to get a deal, but be prepared to bid over the foreclosure price. The $8,000 tax credit is making these homes extra appealing to first time homebuyers!
Oh boy do I love those days! It is awesome to hear your market is doing really well when it comes to the short sales and foreclosures!
BTW - like the footer:)
Great advise. Sadly, many buyers are not ready to listen to this type of advice. They are still looking for an announcement that we've hit bottom.
Missy,
Move some of that activity to the Detroit area, I have 2 relo's who cant sell and thus cant by from me in Chicago.
Missy,
Move some of that activity to the Detroit area, I have 2 relo's who cant sell and thus cant by from me in Chicago.
Hi Missy..it is happening here too, but what drives me crazy is that some of these agents dont' change the status in the system...so I spend most of my time calling to find out if the homes are really available.
These are the sounds of spring and hopefully the turn around of the market. Greg Cavaiani
My husband and I are trying to buy one and we know this all too well.
Missy - It's starting to happen here also, 2 weeks ago I had a buyer who wanted to make an offer on 2 homes the same day, both were under contract before we could get the offer written. One of them was under contract within 24 hours of being listed.
I have seen quite a few go within a week. That is great for the seller.
If you have a good foreclosure they really go fast!
Missy - This is great news for your area and I hope that we'll see it start to spill over to other parts of the country. I hope that buyers will finally get off the fence and buy. While they are waiting for prices to come down lower, they may lose out on their best opportuntiy to buy right now.
Konnie, we have to call too. We don't put them under contract until the bank signs off. With short sales this is an average of 3 months.
Donna, that an interest rates my go up so no time like the present.
Heather, yes you are experiencing it if you are trying to buy one of these.
Sally and David, I will.
Larry, do you all have short sales in Franklin? and Brentwood? Shocked.
Its going on here to. I have tried to set up appointments with the HUD Homes and foreclosures and they are gtoing like hotcakes! Its a great feeling at the same time to see the market shifting again before our eyes.
So many still think its slow out there and when I try to explain people think I am making things up. They will soon see!!
Missy - That's great news! Sales are picking up here, but not quite that much, yet... :)
Hello Missy, here in South Florida, we are seeing the Bank Owned Foreclosures selling very quickly (usually within less than 30 days of being listed), but many of the Short Sales are still listed for quite a while before selling, if they receive Offers at all.
Jeannette, how very true! There are those who think we are making things up when we talk about the level of activity because they choose to believe national Real Estate reports by the media and other predictions of doom and gloom which have nothing to do with the local R.E. market.
Yes, sales are picking up, but pop the champagne yet!
There's a lot of buyers out there looking to "steal a deal" on a foreclosure, but otherwise many properties are still sitting.
There's a shortage of foreclosures because of all the foreclosure moratoriums FNMA/FHLMC & lenders have been doing. They all wanted to see what Obama would announce yesterday about loan modifications before foreclosing on properties.
There will be another wave of foreclosures this summer and fall, boosting inventory again.
That's crazy! Nice for Ann Arbor, that's for sure.
Missy it amazes me how different the markets are in the US. Our foreclosure rate just dropped - I'll post more on that. But we're still moving slowly here. It is picking up but nothing like what you're seeing. We want it to pick up but not back to the days of writing offers in driveways...
Missy- You are right, a tough lesson for many buyers to learn!
Hi Missy... in the distressed housing market, we are once again operating in an environment where Time is of the Essence! Carpe Diem!
Steve, Carpe Diem right back at ya, Steve.
Katerina, great conversation today.
Jacquie, yes that is why they are selling they are sooooooooo much lower than everything else.
Heather, well I wish it was a normal market so my sellers wouldn't be taking such hits. But, the silver lining is a great time to own in Ann Arbor.
Drew, yes the ARM re-adjust again this summer.
Vicki, Jeannette, good for you guys that your area's of Florida are moving.
Debi, we are just starting our Spring market, but it sure is gray today.
Missy: The only foreclosures that are flying off the shelves in our market are the ones that are under-priced. The rest of the foreclosed homes are just sitting.
MIssy, that is GREAT news that you are experiencing a seller's market for foreclosures. I'm with Jill on our area. For the most part the foreclosures here are not that great of a deal and they just sit.
I don't do the foreclosure market, so don't know how it's going. But many of us are busy on "regular" homes. We expect to be really busy once nicer - WARM - spring weather arrives, since open houses have been very well attended.
Missy, as someone who loves to work with buyers, I'm enjoying our buyers market for as long as I can!
Missy, as someone who loves to work with buyers, I'm enjoying our buyers market for as long as I can!
Missy, that almost looks and sounds like propaganda! We are a wee bit behind you in our market, but somebody has to lead the way. Might as well be Ann Arbor and the Missy Caulk Team!! ;-)
Hi Missy! That is SUCH good news and what you're saying seems to be working for your fence-sitters, that's for sure! Congrats for your clients NOT waiting for that announcement of Lenn's that we've hit bottom! (Lenn, I'm experiencing the SAME thing)! You snooze, you LOSE!
Missy this is wonderful news and I am hoping you will send this sunshine to other parts of the country.
The same thing is happening here also Missy, and it isn't just investors snapping up the good deals. I'm seeing signs of the first time home buyers doing so also. I'm no recommending that my buyers have House B and House C picked out as well as House A so that they aren't awfully disappointed if they lose their first choice.
Missy I hope that good news flows down stream here to the Buckeye state.. Nice Post