Any Realtors or RE experts on the board (Portland, Brunswick: sales, real estate)

[ChristinePlovesME]

I will be flying into Ma...then to Maine probably in late June. I am so worried, as I see homes in my price range..pending so fast.
If you are a Realtor or really follow the market....is there a projection that more properties will come on market at that time...OR does the inventory shrink even more?
I am looking in So. Maine.....many towns...from Gorham to No. Berwick & Wells....Saco is first choice. I do not want to go above Portland.
My range is under 275K...single fam. no condos.

Thanks for any insight or info......Have a couple Realtors, but if anyone can recommend someone also it never hurts to have some recommendations.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

I sent a PM. That's outside my area.

[dogsandart]

I'd love to know if more things will be coming on the market, too, as the summer goes on. We want to come up to househunt in the Brunswick/Bath area, but homes under $250K that aren't in need of lots of work are going very quickly. We are hoping that people will see that the market has improved and decide to list, when they may have been waiting.

[ChristinePlovesME]

Originally Posted by dogsandart

I'd love to know if more things will be coming on the market, too, as the summer goes on. We want to come up to househunt in the Brunswick/Bath area, but homes under $250K that aren't in need of lots of work are going very quickly. We are hoping that people will see that the market has improved and decide to list, when they may have been waiting.

Look at Realtor.com.....get the app on your phone, the site has just recently changed a bit. But, there are plenty of houses in the area you mentioned at that price range, I just looked. I just looked at one for 258K.....looked very nice, no need for fixing up...just look as the are certainly more expensively priced homes also.

[dogsandart]

Thanks, I do have Realtor.com already and I'm getting the MLS listings, too. There have been several that we liked that sold pretty quickly. We have other requirements, like a good neighborhood to walk/jog so some don't fit the bill because of that, garage, etc. But I'm not seeing a huge number that we like, and those we do like tend to go quickly. There are 6 or 7 on our list of possibilities right now, but there's only one or two that would be "perfect" from what we're seeing, so maybe that clarifies things.

[EastMark]

You are doing the right thing. Researching, looking at sales vs prices.asking questions.

The market there is good so as you have now seen when a fair deal on a nice place comes up it goes quickly.

You are setting yourself up to know a good deal when you see it and will be able to pull the trigger quicker than the buyer who doesnt know the value proposition in this market as well.

Best of luck in your search !

[ChristinePlovesME]

Originally Posted by EastMark

You are doing the right thing. Researching, looking at sales vs prices.asking questions.

The market there is good so as you have now seen when a fair deal on a nice place comes up it goes quickly.

You are setting yourself up to know a good deal when you see it and will be able to pull the trigger quicker than the buyer who doesnt know the value proposition in this market as well.

Best of luck in your search !

Thanks for that......i just got some words of caution from another thread (real estate thread). Sometimes in life....we just cannot "move" fast enough.....meaning, RE is going up and up and up. I should have made my move in 2014. I had a job in Portland ME......problems, family issues...having to sell home in another state (where I am coming from).
I think that the time to buy......is when the market is warming up....not red hot. People in your life can weigh you down from moving fast enough....
As anyone knows....must follow RE and other financial trends.....I posted a thread asking about what other markets are hot, where it is a sellers market; many bloggers described their areas.....Seattle, Denver, DC...all hot markets.....so not just Eastern MA and So. Maine.....its all over.

Also....in order to pull the trigger; you need to be good to go....for me that is having the money from sale of other house and being physically back in Maine....
I also that I will be very cautious, with cost of house and location...in case market plunges again....would not want to get stuck in house that would not have good resale value or in a location that people would not want.

Remember, Realtors....are there to make money, not necessarily to give sound advice. It is still always a bit of a roll...of the dice.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

"Remember, Realtors....are there to make money, not necessarily to give sound advice. It is still always a bit of a roll...of the dice."

If they don't give sound advice, they don't stay in business long. The same applies to architects, physicians, plumbers and car mechanics. One of the franchises used to have. Four step plan for buyers. It was called "Four to the door."

Get qualified.
Pick a property.
Put it under contract.
Close on time.

[ChristinePlovesME]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

"Remember, Realtors....are there to make money, not necessarily to give sound advice. It is still always a bit of a roll...of the dice."

If they don't give sound advice, they don't stay in business long. The same applies to architects, physicians, plumbers and car mechanics. One of the franchises used to have. Four step plan for buyers. It was called "Four to the door."

Get qualified.
Pick a property.
Put it under contract.
Close on time.

Wait.....gotta do the inspections also, sometimes this changes everything......all disclosures too.

[gentlearts]

Originally Posted by ChristinePlovesME

Wait.....gotta do the inspections also, sometimes this changes everything......all disclosures too.

If your buyer's agent is on the ball, he/she should be able to get inspections lined up very quickly. We only had a week to find a house, and 5 weeks until closing. Our agent had all the contingent things done a week after we made an offer, including the repairs found in the inspection.
My point is to have an experienced agent who has a rolodex full of people she knows will respond quickly and professionally when needed.