Bidding wars in this market? Absolutely! In today’s video, we are going to talk about 2 recent examples of bidding wars. In both cases, this provided our sellers a lot more money than the list price and the sales ended up being much easier despite the declining real estate market.
Whether you are a potential buyer or seller in the greater Seattle real estate market, you’re going to want to stick around till the end, so you can apply this to your situation and stay in the know! Let’s dive right in.
We all know the market went way up in the beginning of 2022. Then, as interest rates rose dramatically, the market began to cool. We are still in this declining market.
So how did 2 recent sellers of ours get more than their asking price?
Let’s start with the story of our Kirkland, WA condo listing. Our sellers purchased this wonderful, water view condo in Kirkland in 2017. After 5 years of ownership they decided they were tired of condo living and wanted to upgrade to actual waterfront. After selling them a waterfront home in nearby Redmond, WA we worked with the sellers to get their Kirkland, WA condo ready for market. Walls were painted, all personal belongings were moved out and everything had a deep clean. Then our expert stager went in and made it look like a model home. Our professional photographer took beautiful photos and created a home tour video to showcase the best features. Here is a short clip from that marketing video. We put their condo on the market, at a competitive price of $1,475,000 and soon received 2 offers. With effective negotiating, we ended up selling it for $45,000 ABOVE the asking price. Not only that, but the winning offer was all cash, waved all contingencies and closed in only 12 days after listing the property. So not only were our sellers ecstatic about the price. They were also really grateful that it was a quick closing with very little risk to them. Needless to say, this was a major win for our clients.
Our next seller, Donna, wanted to downsize after 45 years in her Lake Forest Park home. As the original owner having lived in the home for 4 and a half decades, you could say it needed a bit of freshening up to bring it to today’s selling standards. Family and friends pitched in and helped Donna sort through all her stuff. One pile to keep, one pile for charity and the other pile to throw out. New paint, new carpet and a deep cleaning made everything look fresh. And again, our expert stager did her magic to make the home look it’s best. So did our professional photographer. We went on the market at a competitive price of $830,000. We received 3 offers in total, and negotiated a nice sales price that was $61,000 above list with the buyer waiving contingencies. This home is set to close in just a few weeks and is another example of a terrific sale, despite the declining market.
What’s the takeaway from these 2 examples? We’ll get to that in just a second. First, I’m curious, about your thoughts and what experience you have had in today’s market. Please leave a quick comment below. Here is the interesting thing regarding these successful outcomes for our sellers (and let’s not forget the winning buyers either). This did not happen just by chance, and they have a few things in common. One, the sellers prepared their homes to look really clean and fresh. Two, effective marketing, including quality staging and expert photography grabbed buyers’ attention and got them interested. Three, the homes were priced competitively so buyers recognized the value. And four, we had an effective way to negotiate the price up because of the multiple offers, without scaring buyers off or having it backfire.
Now, let’s go back to point number 3, when I mentioned the homes were priced competitively. This does not mean the homes were priced way below market value. If that were the case, there would have been a lot more offers to choose from and investors would have gotten involved. To price a home competitively, especially in a declining market, simply means to use the latest data, numbers and market sentiment, to price the home effectively. Also, this does not mean relying on comparable home sales 3 or more months ago. Rates are much higher, and prices are lower. The market is fluid and always changing. The most meaningful data to compare home values are the pending sales (those homes that just recently went under contract).
The moral of the story is know your data, know your data, know your data and use that to your advantage.
Are there still bidding wars? Yes. Bidding wars exist in every market, including declining markets like this one. Does that mean it’s the norm like we experienced earlier this year and all last year? Absolutely not. Today, bidding wars are the exception. And while there is no guarantee, Sellers, by doing the right things, you increase your chances of a clean, quick and easy sale, that could get you above the asking price.
Also, for you buyers, when you have your ducks in a row and can quickly identify a good deal, you can act quickly in a multiple offer situation and use that to your advantage as well.
Be sure to watch next week’s video as we go over the latest market data and provide tips for buyers and sellers so you can navigate our ever-changing market. If you haven’t already, please click the like and subscribe button. And for your specific real estate needs, please reach out as we’d be happy to help.