Lessons Learned from a Thanksgiving Open House

We hosted an Open House this past Friday at a cute, three bedroom, one bath home in Yarmouth with central AC, a new interior paint job and beach rights. It was appropriately priced in the below $300,000 range.

When we arrived shortly before the 12:30pm start, there were potential buyers already lined up. And they didn’t stop coming. By 2:30pm, when the Open House ended, more than 35 separate groups had toured the home.

By Saturday’s 7:00pm deadline, we had multiple offers, Not surprising, the one that was accepted was for over asking price.

For sellers, who continue to sit on the sidelines, the lesson is clear. What are you waiting for? Our experience Friday was no different than many of our colleagues at their Open Houses. In fact, Mari accompanied a client to an Open House yesterday where there was another large crowd.

Buyers are active, interested, pre-approved, and in many cases aggressive. As Jeff Tucker from Zillow notes below waiting to sell is a potential money loser.

For buyers, the lesson is not to be discouraged.

Recent data from the National Association of Realtors indicates that 62% of buyers now spend 3 months or more looking for a home, an increase from 58% one year ago. A primary cause for the delay is the heavy competition today’s buyers face when making an offer on a home. The average house in today’s market receives 3.4 offers before it’s sold. This means for every buyer who purchases a home, two or three buyers have to begin their search all over again.

Experts anticipate home prices will continue to increase into 2021, and the incredibly low interest rates we’ve seen this year are also forecasted to rise as the economy strengthens. Potential homebuyers, who decide to hold off on their search until there’s less competition, run the risk of finding a more expensive housing market when they start looking again. If affordability is a key motivator behind your decision to buy a home, this winter is still the best time to make it happen.

The most important lesson from the current real estate market is that whether you’re thinking about buying or selling, playing the waiting game is a losing proposition.

Helping our clients make the best decisions has been our full time job for 21 years, not a part time hobby. If you’re ready to review your options, please contact us at 508-568-8191 or [email protected]. Talk soon…

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Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday, an opportunity for us to support our non-profits that are playing an even larger role than usual in supporting our community.

Local food pantries have been especially challenged as people, who never needed help before, have turned to them to put food on the table. We’re regular donors to the Sandwich Food Pantry. We also support the Cape and Island United Way, where Mari chairs a grant review committee.

These organizations — and so many others across the Cape — continue to need our help as we head into the holidays and a predicted spike in virus cases.

Tomorrow, please consider supporting any non-profit that is close to your heart. They help many more of your friends and neighbors than you realize. Thanks.

Stay healthy. Stay optimistic.

Mari and Hank