Secrets Only Realtors Know

Gideon Fountain posting for Christopher Fountain…

There’re plenty, but I’ll give you two good ones that apply to buyers:

There will always be another house.

There will always be another buyer.

Really , Capt. Obvious, those are examples of your big real estate secrets? Yes, my sarcastic friend, it is true.

Let’s take that first one, “there’ll always be another house”. If you are a real estate agent and your clients are absolutely desperate to win a bidding war for some particular property, you could, if you were feeling especially honest that day, remind them that other, equally nice properties will appear, maybe even in the next few days. But typically, we brokers do NOT whisper those magic words and are only too happy to have you bid $300,000+ over the asking price. Don’t lose your dream house!

And what about “There will always be another buyer”? That applies to you buyers who are making life miserable for a seller by demanding all sorts of concessions like repairs, delayed closing , reduced deposit requirement, demands for furniture, etc., etc., etc. You are convinced that you’re the only one in the world who wants this property and the seller is “dammed lucky you came along!” And then, it happens. Out of the blue, the listing agent picks up the phone and receives a new offer from a much nicer buyer with no demands, no delays, and maybe even a higher price! How quickly will the seller dump you, Mr. First Buyer? The closest that scientists have been able to measure it is 1 millionth of a second, but it might be even faster.

So, human nature being largely unchanging, these two real estate truisms have likely been in place since Babylonian times (1895 BC), but lately, one of them has been altered. That one, “there will always be another house”, has been shaken to the core, if not utterly destroyed. The lack of inventory is so bad right now that, if your broker doesn’t urge you to bid higher and higher, that broker is guilty of malpractice. In various parts of town this year, if you lost a bidding war, the odds are good that you are still out there looking. It’s that bad, and no end in sight.

In summation: for the nonce, bid hard, bid high when you find a house you like. It may be the last one you’ll see for a year.

And for you buyers making it tough on a seller? the second rule still applies. You can and will be replaced!

25 Shore Acre Drive, Old Greenwich, CT: asked $1.789M, sells for $2.3M. Buyer paid $511,000 over ask. Would you have done that?

If you answered no, and chose to wait for the next house on this street (or any nearby street) with first-floor master bedroom, cute little pool, and street association beach rights, under $2.5M, guess what? You’re still looking!

Listing broker: Cynthia De Riemer of Coldwell Banker

Buyer Broker: Cynthia De Riemer of coldwell banker