House hunting is exciting, scary and frustrating all rolled into one… and never more so than this year. It can feel like an endurance race as you hurry to see properties and make an offer before they are sold.
the good
Technology has made home shopping easier in many regards, but it can also make it feel like even more like a race because technology enables things to happen so quickly it can make your head spin.
- You can now see so many pictures of properties online, including 3D immersion tours, that you can have a very good sense of the property before you visit in person
- But there are some things, like the sounds and smells and sights of the neighborhood that you can only truly experience in person
- And you don’t really get the feeling of what it would be like to live in the space until you are actually in the space
- That said, there are some people who make offers based on what they see online before properties are even open for showings to get ahead of the crowd… I have had showing requests approved only to be notified the property was sold just as showings were scheduled to begin, although this is rare
- Showings can be arranged very quickly and easily, day or night… no longer a need for the real estate office to be open to schedule an appointment, most appointments can now be scheduled via app 24 hours a day
- Offers can now be created, signed and delivered electronically, without anyone meeting face to face
the bad
- Overlapping showings are no longer allowed due to COVID-19, so there are limited appointment time slots… it’s kind of like making an appointment for a haircut with your favorite stylist, only one person can be there at a time and you may not get your preferred appointment time
- Appointments used to default to 1 hour in length… now the time slots are frequently 30 minutes, sometimes only 15 minutes to accommodate high demand for showings… not much time for making one of the most important decisions of your life!
- I feel like a doctor when I go on showing apppiontments… we wear masks, use hand sanitizer and I wear gloves, the only one in the group who touches things, including opening doors, drawers and cabinets
the ugly
- There is such a shortage of homes for sale that competition is fierce for new listings as soon as they hit the market
- Coming soon listings are becoming more and more common… nice thing there is you can make advance appointments for when a property becomes active, but even there you have to be quick
- It is not uncommon to have a showing scheduled, then get a cancellation even on your way there… nice thing is technology means you can quickly make an appointment for another property in its place on the fly
- Multiple offers have become the norm… the most I have experienced is 32 offers on the same home… that means 31 potential buyers were disappointed for that one property
- It’s especially hard because decisions have to be made so quickly
- Because of that I see more buyers back out during the inspection period not because of the inspection but because of discernment
- Which can be a bonus second chance for those buyers who lost out in the first round
- It can sometimes be a roller coaster ride for sellers as well as buyers
- Although circumstances vary from property to property, most of the time it is hard to get an offer accepted contingent upon the sale of your current home
- Resulting in selling first and buying after getting an offer if you need the proceeds from the sale of your current home to buy your next home
- Sometimes both can close at the same time, but moving into temporary housing is also not uncommon
- Sometimes it means figuring out ways to use the equity in your current home to buy before you sell, maybe borrowing temporarily from your 401k, or other ways to creatively finance buying non contingent upon the sale of your current home
the reality
The reality is that it can feel like a race to not only find, but also secure a new home. It is not uncommon for buyers to submit many offers before having an offer accepted because of the competition, and feeling like you are in an endurance race. The flip side is that can make racing into your new home feel even more exhilarating!
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – shensrud@homesmsp.comÂ
