If you're a buyer, it's hard to secure a contract on a house these days -- especially under $250K, even under $300K, especially in the City of Harrisonburg.
It almost seems like there is a backlog of home buyers all frustrated from not having found something this past fall, or past summer, or past spring -- because homes under $250K or $300K are often seeing 10+ showings and multiple offers in the first two or three days on the market.
What is this backlog of buyers causing?
- steep competition for new listings amongst many buyers
- contract prices that often go above the asking price
- offers that often have escalation clauses
- some buyers waiving home inspections
- some buyers waiving appraisals
It's a wild and crazy time right now to try to buy a home, at least partly because there is a larger than normal number of buyers frustrated that they haven't been able to buy in the past 6 to 12 months.
Perhaps when spring arrives we'll see a rush of newly listed homes which will start to cut into this excess buyer demand?
Or perhaps not.
Stay tuned!