With such a lack of inventory in today’s real estate market, finding a house that isn’t attracting insane amounts of attention can be difficult. Let’s be honest, no one wants to go up against 10 other offers if they can help it. Here are a couple of tricks for finding more options.
Not every Realtor is going to do a phenomenal job of marketing. In fact, this market has made some agents downright lazy. They think they can throw a house on the market with some pictures they snapped from their old flip phone and it will sell. Are they right? Probably. But I guarantee it won’t sell for as much or as fast as if they did things right.
This is your chance! Capitalize on the fact that not as many people will be excited about the property. They may take longer to schedule an appointment (presumably waiting to see if anything better comes on) or will pass it by completely. If the house fits inside your needs list, let’s be aggressive and schedule a showing ASAP.
Next, constantly monitor the market for outliers. The vast majority of buyers are looking at what is coming on the market today. But what about those houses that went under contract and just came back on because the transaction fell apart? Or what about houses that somehow slipped under the radar and have been on the market for 2 weeks? Yes, those scenarios might be red flags, but in a market with low inventory, allow me to gather intel and we can schedule a showing if it checks out. In short – try not to make too many assumptions.
Finally, adjust your price point. Everyone wants to be the big dog in the fight. If you are assuming you will be in a multi-offer situation (prepare for the worst and hope for the best), lower your top-end searches by 5-7% so when it’s time to write an offer, you have room to escalate up if necessary and appropriate.
Ultimately, as a buyer in today’s challenging real estate market, it will be in your best interest to cast as wide a net as possible to open up the maximum amount of choices. And when looking at those choices, try to be open-minded while retaining your priorities. Happy house hunting!
