We’ve heard for years now that the inventory is low. For the casual observers, it’s a discouraging thought – but it’s not as bad as it sounds. There have been plenty of homes for sale this year, and in 2020 we could post the highest number of NSDCC sales in history…..during a pandemic!
For everyone’s sake, we should be more clear. There have been plenty of homes for sale – they just sell fast, giving the appearance that there isn’t much for sale.
The inventory of ACTIVE listings is low, especially in the more-affordable price ranges.
Look at the median days-on-market of NSDCC homes sold this year:
| Price Range | |||||
| Under $1M | |||||
| $1M – $1.5M | |||||
| $1.5M – $2.0M | |||||
| Over $2M |
If you want to buy a NSDCC home for less than $2,000,000 today, you have 104 choices. In an area of 300,000 people!
But don’t despair – we have sold 2,220 homes sold for less than $2,000,000 this year, mostly to buyers who had a strategy of jumping on the new listings quickly.
What can buyers do?
- Work with an agent who has a great reputation in the community.
- Work with an agent who has bidding-war strategies and works in the off-market space.
- Work with an agent who can present a compelling case on why sellers should accept your offer.
- Make a cash offer.
- Get pre-approved with an impressive and well-known lender.
- Consider removing contingencies upfront (be careful).
- Include an intro love letter that’s neutral/generic so sellers can’t discriminate.
- Make a big deposit – and maybe non-refundable if you know you are going to buy the house.
- Let sellers occupy for free after closing.
- Find a way to make an offer that’s not contingent upon selling another property.
Get Good Help!
Express willingness to accomodate the sellers’ time schedule. Sometimes the seller won’t be ready for 6-8 weeks even if you can do a 30 day closing. So just say you are flexible.
Good one!