Requiem for the San Diego Buyers Market
The tide has turned. Are there still good buys available? Absolutely! But, it's a new ball game. I believe we will look back a year from today and see that late February/early March 2009 was when the San Diego Real Estate market hit rock bottom.
Within the past 90 days a huge increase of well qualified buyers have stepped up to the plate and they are serious. A large number of these folks are first time home buyers and the "sweet spot" is homes priced between $200K and $400K. Competition in this price range is fierce. Multiple offers are the rule, rather than the exception.
When I say multiple offers, we're not talking two or three.Frequently it's 25, 50 or even a hundred serious offers.Selling prices exceeding the asking price have become the norm. I recently represented a well qualified buyer who offered full price on a foreclosure in Encinitas. The listing agent e-mailed me to say they had put out counters to the top 5 offers calling for "highest & best". He went on to say that unfortunately, my client did not receive a counter because he "only offered the asking price."
In spite of this, I still receive calls from buyers back east (In San Diego anyone who is on the other side of Phoenix is back east). Callers who start the conversation with I'm looking for a buyers agent who can get me a rock bottom price. You can almost feel the chill in the air when I explain that today, a good deal would be getting their full price offer accepted.
If you are considering the purchase of a home or condo in San Diego county, move soon. Inventory is rapidly diminishing and prices are starting to move higher. It is an absolute necessity that you have, in hand, a current full approval from a local lender. By full approval, I mean that everything has been submitted and checked and the lender pre-approves you for a loan in $xxx amount, subject only to appraisal & title.
If you are successful in getting your offer accepted, the next hurdle is the appraisal. There is a great deal of pressure on appraisers these days to err on the side of caution and lower prices. This is especially true of V A appraisals and nothing can stop a deal any faster than an appraisal coming in ten or twenty thousand below the agreed selling price.
Finally if the appraisal, title, your home inspection & the termite report are all good to go, DO NOT plan to have your moving van at the front door on the day escrow is "supposed" to close.
The lender still must fund the loan on time and this is increasingly becoming an exception rather than the rule. I've seen closings delayed for two or three weeks over minor issues or no issue at all, other than the lender is "backed up."
Now more than ever before buyers need the services of an Exclusive Buyers Agent on their side. As the old saying goes."it's a jungle out there"!
If you or someone you know and like is ready to step into home ownership, I welcome the opportunty to explain how we work as EBA's and the fact that there is never a cost to the home buyer. I look forward to hearing from you.