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We are a family just moved back to NYC after 6 years abroad. We did some house hunting before we repatriated and decided that we would try to rent a place in Larchmont while looking for a place to buy. Fast forward to reality and Plan B. Living in Manhattan but still looking for a place to buy in Larchmont.
I know that we are one of many (ton) of young families looking to buy a nice little house close to town and the train, etc., etc. So my question....does anyone have any insight as to how much these houses are going for above asking price? Are we talking $25-50K over or in the range of $100K over asking price? Curious as to what we're up against, it seems pretty frantic
There is no exact formula. If the house is fairly priced, $50k+ is not unheard of. If it is purposely underpriced, I've seen them go for well over $100k.
If you are consistently loosing out, though, it could be your terms as much as price. People are routinely waiving their appraisal and mortgage contingencies and have huge down payments going in. If you are only going in with a 20% down payment and an appraisal contingency that could be your problem as some of the appraisals haven't yet caught up to the market.
We're in the market...looking for one of "those houses" in Larchmont and we've found that almost all are going at asking price...or a bit over (5%, maybe). The "slow market" of the last few years has been replaced by a very, very aggressive one.
We just bought in larchmont and also experienced what you are describing - asking price seemed irrelevant, the only thing that mattered was what other buyers were willing to pay. I would suggest familiarizing yourself with what things are actually going for, have a good sense of price per square foot in large vs small houses, things that are finished and things that need work and location, location - walkability factor to train, village and school and which school zone (from what I saw Murray and Chatsworth zones were priced a little higher than Central but not always for a good house in a good location to the village), so that you can bid more competitively. We saw things that were priced way too low I think on purpose to drum up interest, and things that were priced to high that have come down. The market is always right and if it's too good to be true it probably is. Check out redfin.com to search recent closes and get a sense of good comps. Good luck! There's little inventory which made this buying season rather challenging.
I'm a broker and a lifelong Larchmonter. If you asked me Jan 15th, I wouldn't have predicted this market. No one could have. I've listed some of those houses that went above asking. There's a lot of pent up demand - and everyone is looking for a good house close to town and train. I can give you inside scoop on individual house info if you want to know more. Best advice is to be armed and ready when you search. Some people are bringing inspectors to 1st showings so they can waive them during the bidding process. Don't get frustrated. New houses come on all the time. Study the market, get comps and bid only where you are comfortable.
Hi,
Unfortunatley, all of the above comments are correct. Also, this situation seems to be the case in other surrounding areas as well. We purchased in Pelham. In the past 9 months, we ended up in 3 bidding wars on different houses we were interested in, and the house we ended up buying went for over asking price as well.
For a market that has been dead and quiet for the past year and half (when we began looking) things heated up and got furious pretty quickly. Unreal! We didn't expect what we encountered either most recently.
Good luck, it is a frustrating and cut throat process to go through.
Yes, I must admit I thought Westchester was going to take longer to catch up with the surges in Manhattan and Brooklyn, but a neighbor was telling me things are selling that hot cakes here in Rye Neck too.
Must be the spring blossoms.
I agree with LICgirl's advice re. walkability for railroad station (if you're commuting) and school district.
Some people are bringing inspectors to 1st showings so they can waive them during the bidding process.
Can you expand on this a little? What are the laws in the state of New York vis a vis rights of buyer to inspect before purchase? If buyer is bringing in inspector on tour of house, what kind of inspection are they allowed to do and how thorough? What recourse does a buyer have if something turns up and they've waived the inspection (I'm assuming none.)
I'd be awfully nervous to purchase any property without a thorough inspection. Seems nuts to do that, can't believe people are that desperate/stupid.
Sorry for the delay in responding. The inspection is at the buyer's discretion/cost, so it is up to you to decide when to have it done. Since it does cost $$, you only want to do it for a house that you are very comfortable with and looks like "the one." The inspector can look over the big ticket items regarding the house when you schedule a showing with your broker. It would need to be a "clean" inspection for you to present a bid waiving inspection contingency. If there is an issue , you can include the item in your bid. Having the inspector at your showing speeds up the process by a step and provides a level of comfort to the seller that you aren't going to renegotiate after the inspection. It's a good tool to use on a house that is renovated and you know will receive multiple bids.
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Inspections
