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Our inventory is low right now. Typically, more homes will come on the market in March and April (spring market). Folks that are "thinking" of selling should quickly put their homes on the market with the low inventory.
You will see homes coming on the market more in the spring as folks look to move once the kids are out of school.
I have two sets of clients currently looking in the Cary/Apex area. One in the $350,000s and one in the $500,000s.
We are seeing many homes sell after being on the market less than a week. If they are in good condition, good location (no power lines, no roads), and are priced right, they are selling. Preston and Lochmere ALWAYS sell well.
Vicki
Here is the quandary-- putting our house up now sounds great until I realize that there is nothing out there for us to buy!!
We would ideally move over the summer too. But I don't think I could list until I saw a good number of desirable homes hit the market. I saw one new listing that had just a few horrible pictures Ad little detail and I felt bad for the sellers until I saw it was off the market already, just a few days after it listed!!!!
Here is the quandary-- putting our house up now sounds great until I realize that there is nothing out there for us to buy!!
We would ideally move over the summer too. But I don't think I could list until I saw a good number of desirable homes hit the market. I saw one new listing that had just a few horrible pictures Ad little detail and I felt bad for the sellers until I saw it was off the market already, just a few days after it listed!!!!
Do the spec homes in new communities move as fast as resale homes in the spring? We decided to buy new/pre-construction so we have control over getting into the house we want by summer time. Buying resale is too much of a gamble.. waiting for the right house to come on the market, for the right price, and seller accepting our offer.
We're also putting up our house for sale in April, hoping to get it sold by June, and our new home ready by then.
Mike made the most salient point of all at the end of the 1st page.
Under $500K, we're in a GREAT seller's market for ALL - homes are being presented/prepped/staged right, and priced right, and "flying off the shelves".
We're basically at the point of a "scalper's market" - that is, folks don't HAVE to pay some significant amount over what is "face value" ... but there are folks looking to buy willing to pay face value, NOW.
Sellers aren't trying to get 2008 prices. They're trying to get 2012 prices, plus 3%. In 2012, they got 2011 prices, plus 3%.
In the past week four houses have gone on the market in my neighborhood. Personally I think they're nuts all trying to sell at the same time but it's a desirable neighborhood so they might all get lucky.
We had a few houses go on the market at the same time last year, all sold the first weekend they were on the market. I think the new owners went pinging around to open houses that weekend - I know one put an offer on the other two houses before ending up with the house they got, and it was more about timing than anything else. A lot of sellers want to wait till the end of the school year to close but not everyone wants to wait to get in to their new home.
Here is the quandary-- putting our house up now sounds great until I realize that there is nothing out there for us to buy!!
We would ideally move over the summer too. But I don't think I could list until I saw a good number of desirable homes hit the market. I saw one new listing that had just a few horrible pictures Ad little detail and I felt bad for the sellers until I saw it was off the market already, just a few days after it listed!!!!
It is difficult to expect to sell your house and find another and move from house A to house B.
If your house sells fast, you may consider putting everything into a POD and store it for a few months while you rent an apt. with just the minimum of your furniture.
That way, when a house that meets your requirements come on the market, you'll be ready to make a fast offer and without having a house to sell, you are in a better position to negotiate!
I've been scouring listings for a couple of years now. I've been in nearly as many houses around the area where you're looking than many of our C-D realtors.
Well, maybe not Mike J, but he works the Cary market more than some of our others here.
ps. I looked so long because we wanted to get to know the market. We already have a new house. Higher bracket than where you're looking, but we started out closer to your bracket.
No more than $425K and 4 bedrooms is what we're after. We'll be ready to pounce if something we like hits the market in April or May...right now we're still getting our affairs in order (as per Mike J ) and we're in a lease until the end of June.
I'm a planner by nature so I can't help myself in wanting to get a jumpstart on the process. We have an agent, have shopped lenders and feel comfortable with who'll we'll likely go with in the end. Have been pre-qualed but won't bother with pre-approval until we're 30 days out since they're only good for that timeframe.
Anything else we need to do now so we're ready to roll in 2-3 months?
It sounds like you definitely know where you want. That's step 2. Step 1 is the lender and agent.
If you have everything lined up, there's no reason NOT to be actively looking now - meaning prepared to buy the next house that comes on the market.
Might the Sellers want/insist on an end of March closing? Sure. It's more likely, as many have said, that one of two things occur: those Sellers are happy to be be done quickly with the Sell side (the harder side) and can take their time finding the next home, or having construction completed, etc. Or, you have to close a month, maybe 2 early. In the grand scheme of things - is the right house for your family not worth a wasted month of rent?
Conversely, what if a great house comes up and you say "Ahh, I'm not looking until April"....and then in May you feel rushed/forced to buy because the lease end is looming?
No more than $425K and 4 bedrooms is what we're after. We'll be ready to pounce if something we like hits the market in April or May...right now we're still getting our affairs in order (as per Mike J ) and we're in a lease until the end of June.
I'm a planner by nature so I can't help myself in wanting to get a jumpstart on the process. We have an agent, have shopped lenders and feel comfortable with who'll we'll likely go with in the end. Have been pre-qualed but won't bother with pre-approval until we're 30 days out since they're only good for that timeframe.
Anything else we need to do now so we're ready to roll in 2-3 months?
It sounds like you're ready.
Go ahead and look now. Offer if you see a good house. Don't wait, if buying a house this year is your goal.
Houses in your price range that are good AND in the area where you want to buy, honestly do go very fast.
You mentioned Wellesley, parts of Preston (which parts?)... Are you going for specific schools or do you just like the mature trees/age of homes and so forth?
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) and we're in a lease until the end of June. 
