Bidding wars are back... (Manassas, Great Falls: short sale, condo, loan)

[cdmurphy]

D.C. area homebuyers get creative in return of bidding wars (Washington Post)

[snowdenscold]

We were experiencing bidding wars even in 2010 around here. Our friends who bought recently lost out on several houses this way. Did DC ever truly have a "buyer's market" ?

[Oldhag1]

We just experienced this. The only houses that stayed on the market any amount of time had issues. We've got a contract on one finally, but it was frustrating.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Oldhag1

We just experienced this. The only houses that stayed on the market any amount of time had issues. We've got a contract on one finally, but it was frustrating.

The main issue is usually price since any house in any condition will sell at the right price. I never understood the bidding war thing. If a house if priced correctly it should sell within a predictable amount of time. I'd blame realtors who talk sellers into underpricing so they can generate quick commissions and save on marketing costs. Either that or the seller bought something else and needs to unload quickly. If your house gets sold in a bidding war you probably left money on the table.

[khuntrevor]

The game I see is that people are overbidding with an appraisal clause. That way, they get the house, and the loan, and feel like they got a fair deal. A good reason for sellers to accept cash offers. My parents live in Wellington, Manassas and it appears that prices are back to early '04 levels, or about 350K. I saw a couple go in the very low 200s in late 2008.

[IndiaLimaDelta]

My family and I experienced this last year. We put an offer on a 7-figure house in Great Falls, with an escalation clause. There were multiple bids within 1 day of listing and another bidder "won" the house.

When I mentioned this to my friends in other parts of the country (WA state, CA, Texas, CO, etc.), they were all incredulous. That's NoVA for you, I guess.

[hilsmom]

yeah, we bid on a short sale about a year ago and were outbid. There were at least 4 other contracts.

And our townhouse sold in 3 days. It was unreal - the pictures were online wednesday night, showings began thursday and we had an offer saturday morning. We probably could have had a bidding war, but it wasn't worth losing a solid offer in the process.

As ILD said, people elsewhere are in shock when they hear these things.

[jillybean720]

I think the article is slightly misleading - yes, some homes end up with bidding wars that result in being sold above list price, but that's not always the case; in fact, I would say that's only the case if the house is priced too low to begin with. We got into a bidding war and "won." We closed in late March but still paid less than the original asking price. It was our third offer that got accepted. In the end, our offer and another were very close, but the seller told our realtor they chose our offer because I was pregnant (actually ended up having the baby ON moving day!), and he "just couldn't say no to a pregnant woman." So, you never know what might seal the deal!

[shamrock847]

I have a friend who has been looking in certain neighborhoods for a 2 br condo/townhouse below $625k. He has been in multiple offer situations/outbid several times over the past few months.

My neighbors listed their house recently and were under contract within 2 days. They had to cancel their planned open house.

It's nowhere near as crazy as 2005, but I think the article correctly points out that supply of properties coming on the market is low compared to the demand, especially for properties that are priced right and show well in the more desireable areas.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by IndiaLimaDelta

My family and I experienced this last year. We put an offer on a 7-figure house in Great Falls, with an escalation clause. .

I had a similar thing happen on an 8 figure house that I lost out on to some Saudi prince. In hindsight I was glad since it didn't have a car elevator , the helipcopter pad was only large enough for one chopper and the dressage training facilities weren't quite up to olympic standards.