What are some trends you have noticed in how competitive the residential market has been?
Well, what we’ve seen just very recently, in the last few weeks is that instead of it being a 10- or 12-offer situation, it’s a two- or three-offer situation. You’ll still have the occasional property that there’s a mad group of people trying to fight over it, but here lately we’ve really noticed that that big mass of people who used to come in and put offers in has dissipated.
As far as financing dynamics, what have you observed about the role of appraisals?
Well, cash buyers definitely have a leg up because they’re not really worried about appraisal. ... One of the big decisions financed buyers have to make right now is, “Will I or won’t I add an appraisal waiver to the contract?” That basically states that you’re completely waiving the results of the appraisal—or you’re waiving at least a partial waiver of the difference that might occur between the sales price and the actual appraised price. ... Then some people who have plenty of cash to play with on top of their financing, they might do a full waiver and sometimes come out of pocket with 20-, 30-, 40-grand or more if they want the house bad enough.
What is your advice to anyone considering entering the real estate market in this moment?
Expect the unexpected. Whatever you’ve seen and expected in the past may or may not apply today. Again, I think we’ll be normalizing here in the next year, year-and-a-half ... but until then, just expect the unexpected.
Darin Davis - Realtor, Darin Davis Real Estate Group | 2106 E. SH 114, Ste. 100, Southlake. 817-328-1447 www.darindavis.com
