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Get your red hots here! The days of something for nothing might be over soon. There have been occasions when buyers of real property in the Santa Fe area have been able to pick up properties for well below replacement cost. I saw another example just the other day; a home sold at approximately 40% of what it was listed for about 18 months ago, a huge reduction from original price. It was a lender-owned property.
So someone got something for nothing it seems. Bully for them. They were ready to move in on a great deal when it came along. It was not perfect and needed lots of work; all appliances and fixtures plus several physical defects in the improvements required attention.
You must be willing to do that to such a property. A price that seems too good to be true probably means the home needs lots of work. Getting that work done properly and within your budget could be a challenge for someone not used to working with building trade professionals. You might be able to do some of the work yourself to create “sweat equity” in the property.
As we work through the foreclosed property inventory, there will be fewer bargains in the near future. Buyers have a stronger drive to buy these days. Many have been watching for years and are now ready to make their move. And sellers now know how to set their price to get a sale.
Short sales still require lender participation and agreement. But a well priced home that is not a short sale is probably the most sought after home in today’s market. The seller has some flexibility on how much they net at closing and the buyer recognizes value in the proposition.
For some homes and sellers, it is now possible that more than one purchaser will make an offer. Multiple offers are now seen more frequently, after long desperation hoping to get a single offer of any consequence. We see that when a long time listing that has a major price reduction. All of a sudden it’s priced to sell and the buyers show up.
Those wizened and weary sellers who have chased the market down for years will succeed when they finally settle on the right price to ask. Yet someone just a block away will still sit there hoping for someone to show up and pay thousands more for basically the same product. It is definitely a time of transition.
