Being a clients trusted real estate advisor in this market is very important. It is their job to know the market conditions at various price points and to be able to show what current inventory is available. Educating your client is so important when you are dealing with what is most likely their largest investment. Whether it is your starter home or your forever home, having a knowledgable real estate agent is key.
Here are some tips on how to be successful in this type of market.
1 - Make your best offer first. In strong seller’s market making a list price offer quickly to prevent competitive interest Is helpful. So knowing what your best and highest offer will be ahead of time will be helpful.
2 - Be ready to bid. If a quick offer of the listing price doesn’t work, the next step is to still make your best offer, but it may not be your final offer.
3 - Do not counter. Buyers really need to put their best offer on the table because owners are going to see three, five or up to 20 these days. Have your best on the table so the sellers they can pick the very best one.
4 - Show cash. Show a seller how serious you are by offering more cash than normal in earnest money — a deposit made to the seller to show a buyer’s good faith in a transaction. If a high earnest money deposit in your area is $1,000, then increase it by $5,000.
5 - Offer non-price factors. Some sellers will accept your price if you provide some non-price considerations that can speed up the transaction, also called contingencies. Consider a pass/fail inspection. Also having cash on hand to make up the difference in case the appraisal comes short could be helpful as well.
6 - Use videos and letters. A seller’s nostalgia for their home can be a huge factor, and a short, personal letter from a buyer that shares how they’d enjoy living there could be the very thing that could help decide between two close offers.
In Nashville, Davidson, Murfreesboro, and Franklin house prices rose 10.8% over the past year and rose 2.8% just this last quarter. We can no longer look at three months of sales for comps, but instead three weeks. Finding a realtor to educate their buyers so they are aware of the current market conditions and be able to talk openly about the challenges is the only way to navigate these waters.