Are you living in the greater Seattle area? If so, I bet you’ve noticed that the Seattle real estate market is heating up.
If you’re thinking of selling your house this is a great thing! If you’re looking to buy it’s not such a great thing.
Here are some Seattle real estate tips for buyers and sellers in this market.
Buyers:
You are going to be fighting against way more other buyers than you want to be. This is simply because the Seattle real estate market does not have enough inventory as it sits today. So when a nice house is listed on the MLS (multiple listing service) everyone and their mother is running over to it to take a look. And if it’s even a little bit close to what their looking for they will probably make an offer.
It’s even becoming common that you need to have an inspection done before you make your offer because sellers don’t want to wait for the inspection while you’re in contract. It’s a crazy world we live in.
This is making it really hard to find a house that you really want to live in because you’re competing against so many other buyers.
You should also take into account that because of this sense of lack that all buyers are feeling they end up hurrying to make decisions, and that isn’t the best way to buy a house.
Don’t you think that waiting a year to find the house that you really want is a better idea than rushing to buy a house just because you’re not sure if another house will come on the market for sale? There will always be more cool houses to buy in cool locations. So don’t have the rushing mentality, you’ll end up regretting it later.
Remember that buying a house, and getting a mortgage are big decisions, so try not to make them based on the fast pace of the Seattle real estate market. Make them based on what you want to live in, and don’t get pushed around by the market or your Realtor.
Sellers:
You have picked a fantastic time to sell your house. We have the biggest shortage of real estate inventory that the Seattle market has ever seen. It’s truly crazy!
But that doesn’t mean that you should be stupid, and list your house too high. The best way to sell your house quickly and for above listing price is to price it very competitively.
If you list your house for sale at or just below market value you will get a rush of buyers headed your way, and because there are so many buyers in this Seattle market you’ll get a bunch of offers (assuming that your house is in nice livable condition…).
Remember it’s always better to have lots of offers, and create demand than it is to list your house for sale at too high of a price and be waiting around for inflated offers to come your way.
If you have a good Realtor they should be able to help you with this strategy and how to price your house correctly. The good thing is that you have to really screw it up for your house to not sell in this Seattle real estate market.
Seller side note:
If you have a house that is in need of lots of repairs you might be better selling it to an investor than posting it on the MLS with a Realtor. If your house needs a lot of repairs, and you’d like to know your options give us a call. 425-312-3429, and we’ll let you know what we can buy your house for.
If you have any questions let me know!
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