Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We saw a house we like in Berkeley Hieghts and it just came on market last Saturday. We first offered 540K yesterday. (Listing price 572K)
I was told that there are 2 additional offers coming in yesterday.
Today we submit our final offer which is over the listing price.
The agent just came back to me that there is an offer higher than that so we might not be able to get it.
OMG....is the housing market back up?
The same situation happened to my friend recently as well.
The house they like had multiple bids at the first week and ended up over the listing price.
The house was sold in 5 days.
In my area (southern California) things seem to be starting to recover. The median price has been stable or rising for the last few months and sales have also risen. I wouldn't say we are out of the woods yet but things are starting to look up.
It could simply be that the sellers/realtor actually priced the house fairly to begin with. Hence you and another buyer came in within 6-7% of list almost immediately.
In my area well priced houses are moving. As are homes in ceratin desirable areas. But that doesn't mean everything in my market is moving becuase it definitely is not.
No the housing market is not improving. In fact it continues to deteriorate meaning anyone buying a home now is taking one hell of a gamble and will likely lose. Todays buyers will be next years new round of foreclosures.
Just this week the new numbers came out. They ain't pretty at all including NJ where you are from.
Like MrPeate said, the house was probably already priced well below market and the price you mentioned in Berkely Heights is a bargain. I know the town intimatly. Those buying there very likely work at Bell Labs and earn a pretty high income.
You didn't mention if it was a short sale or not. I am researching properties in the Southwest where there are a lot of shortsales and I am finding that the final sales prices are about 8-10% above the asking price. In my state of WA, average prices are beginning to improve, but, iin my area there are so many different types of homes that it is hard to tell if the prices are rising or the mix is affecting the average price. IE My house is worth about 340K but the house across the street which is on a larger lot and a lakefront is worth about 1.2mil. It doesn't take many of those to affect the mix.
My best friend lives in CA and her house value is still falling due to foreclosures in her neighborhood.
Location: The Circle City. Sometimes NE of Bagdad.
24,468 posts, read 25,999,509 times
Reputation: 59848
House sales in So CA. Sales are up, BUT prices are down.
Cheap homes have Inland area leading Southern California in sales | Real Estate | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California (http://www.pe.com/business/realestate/stories/PE_Biz_S_homesales20.35ae8dc.html - broken link)
it's not a short sale. It's a regular house. Great location, great school and nice updated kitchen. On the same street, I saw one property very similar to this one, but without a updated kitchen was sold for 525K last year so that I would think the listing price 572K will be fair.
When I presented my first offer, next day I got the response from them that there is another offer came in. Therefore, the final offer needs to be submitted. Even though I offer higher than listing price, I still got outbid couple thounsand dollars according to the "off record" conversation between agents... I have not yet received the offical response from seller wether my offer is rejected or not, but I think the chance is very low for me to get the house if I am not willing to push up the number.
There are still a few hot markets left in the United States but generally the market is down - sales down, prices way down. In our old neighborhood in So. California prices are way down even though it is only a few minutes from the beach and in a safe middle class neighborhood. Still lots of foreclosures, empty houses, sluggish market except for 2 bedroom, 1 bath fixers that are going for a song - the market can't get enough of those.
We live in a gorgeous neighborhood in Prospect, KY - sales and prices in the estate section of our subdivision are way down - a friend who has one of the most beautiful homes I've seen just refinanced - she and her husband have owned their home for 4 years - it is meticulously cared for - tons of upgrades - it is now worth less than what they paid 4 years ago. The real estate bust here hit hard late last summer - until then, things were doing well here.
I saw a house hunting type show on TV the other day where a couple was in competition with multiple bidders. They really wanted this house. They made their offer "$1000 over the highest documented bid received " and they got the house. I'm no expert and I don't even know if this is allowed, but it if is, you might try it..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
