What is going on with all of this 400K homes listed at 600K (Houston: days on market, real estate)

[TheotherMarie]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

Lesson for others. In a seller's market, if you are staying in same metro area and just upgrading or downgrading then you don't sell your existing home until you close on your new home. Well, unless you enjoy the hassle to move, pay rent, stay in limbo and uproot your family or you aren't financially stable to carry two mortgages for even few months. In that case you shouldn't be thinking of upgrading anyways, no matter how much your tastes evolved since you bought that house.This way you can take all the time you need for all the stars to line up for your ideal home.

In our situation, we need some of the money from the sale of our house to buy a new one.
Realtors are saying that we have to sell first, then sit in limbo for awhile until we find the next one.
They're saying that contingency offers don't work anymore.
(Looking in the under $400k range.)

What we had originally intended was to make a contingency offer on a house we like, put ours up for sale, then just move pretty much from one to the other.
We're told it doesn't work that way in this area anymore.

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by TheotherMarie

In our situation, we need some of the money from the sale of our house to buy a new one.
Realtors are saying that we have to sell first, then sit in limbo for awhile until we find the next one.
They're saying that contingency offers don't work anymore.
(Looking in the under $400k range.)

What we had originally intended was to make a contingency offer on a house we like, put ours up for sale, then just move pretty much from one to the other.
We're told it doesn't work that way in this area anymore.

Your agent is correct. If a really nice home gets 3-10 offers (especially under $400k) why would they take yours with a contingency ? Your offer will not be competitive with a non contingent offer. You bring too many risks to the table.

I advise them to either get their home on the market and under contract then try a contingency offer but be prepared to make the sale and move into temporary living for 3-6 months.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by TheotherMarie

In our situation, we need some of the money from the sale of our house to buy a new one.
Realtors are saying that we have to sell first, then sit in limbo for awhile until we find the next one.
They're saying that contingency offers don't work anymore.
(Looking in the under $400k range.)

What we had originally intended was to make a contingency offer on a house we like, put ours up for sale, then just move pretty much from one to the other.
We're told it doesn't work that way in this area anymore.

A good number of buyers instruct relators to avoid contingency deals.

[Katana49]

Contingency offers are still being accepted, it just depends on the situation. We bought our home with a contingency offer in Dec 2014.

The home we sold was at the $350k price point, which is an extremely hot price point. The home we bought was at the $550k price point. Still hot vs historically, but there are simply a lot more buyers that can afford a $350k home vs a $550k home. We put in a contingency offer, the other realtor came by to look at our house, saw that it was in perfect condition, needed nothing, and advised their clients that it would be ok to take the deal, that she was certain our house would sell quickly.

[jennifw]

Originally Posted by Katana49

Contingency offers are still being accepted, it just depends on the situation. We bought our home with a contingency offer in Dec 2014.

I think the market is very different now than 2 years ago. We just sold our home and would not have entertained a contingency offer

[UnfairPark]

I wouldn't accept any offer with a contingency either but buyers like OP who are really financially ready for an upgrade and have a sellable home, shouldnt have to ask for a contingency. If you have good income, credit and down payment then their is no need for a contingency. Anyone upgrading, should be able to carry two mortgages for a few months, otherwise you are really stretching yourself.

[DitsyD]

Originally Posted by Katana49

Contingency offers are still being accepted, it just depends on the situation. We bought our home with a contingency offer in Dec 2014.

The home we sold was at the $350k price point, which is an extremely hot price point. The home we bought was at the $550k price point. Still hot vs historically, but there are simply a lot more buyers that can afford a $350k home vs a $550k home. We put in a contingency offer, the other realtor came by to look at our house, saw that it was in perfect condition, needed nothing, and advised their clients that it would be ok to take the deal, that she was certain our house would sell quickly.

A lot has changed in two years.

[biafra4life]

Yeah in today's market you can't do contingency. My brother in law first put in his offer for his new house, got that completed before turning around to sell the old one precisely to avoid being stuck in the OPs situation. Works pretty well but it requires pretty deep pockets to carry two mortgages, while having sufficient funds to put in the down payment and closing costs.

[Katana49]

Originally Posted by jennifw

I think the market is very different now than 2 years ago. We just sold our home and would not have entertained a contingency offer

I disagree. A hot market is a hot market.

I too, was told by a few agents that they wouldn't do a contingent offer on another house. So guess what, they didn't get to be our realtor!

A smart realtor knows whether a house will sell quickly or not. In this case our realtor knew our house would sell quickly, and also knew that we would be able to put the full 20% or more down. We were also right in the middle of the hottest price range. For every 10 buyers for a $350k home, there's probably only 2-3 for a $550k home. In addition, the other realtor also agreed our house would sell quickly and advised their clients that there would be no problem to take our offer.

We put in our contingent offer, they accepted, and we closed within a month and a half. Easy peasy.

[jdallas]

When I was looking 3 years ago, I found a FSBO that was pretty perfect but they had already accepted an offer with a contingency. I had cash in hand but they were stuck and had been for several months. I found a similar home within 3 blocks for less money and closed in 10 days. I'm not sure what happened with the FSBO and their contingency-buyers but the home was turned over to a realtor a few months later.