Despite the continued economic slowdown caused by the pandemic, the real estate market is hotter than ever in Central Florida. I have been working with 2 separate buyers since the beginning of this year, both in the $200-$250k range, and we have been submitting offers on homes that consistently have multiple offers. In some cases, we have submitted offers over the asking price and still have been outbid by other buyers. I even had one property that we submitted an offer on that the listing agent actually told me that the offer they accepted had a contingency that if the property appraised lower than their offer, they would pay the cost difference. What?! I would never encourage any of my buyers to do this because you instantly lose money on the home, but this is the market we are in. Many of the properties in this price range go under contract in less than 1 week. It has gotten to the point that I don't even request to set up showings until the day prior to when we want to see it. If I try to set it up any earlier, there's a good chance the property will go under contract. It is without a doubt a seller's market and we are not seeing any signs of a slowdown.
When you run into a situation where you are submitting a home with multiple offers, the seller holds all the cards. The buyer, and the buyer's agent, really don't have much room for any contingencies (i.e. seller credits, 60+ days for closing, maintenance, etc..). In most cases, the listing agent will update the MLS with a note saying "please submit all offers by X and an offer will be accepted." 9 times out of 10, the agent won't even contact the buyer's agent if they did NOT get the property. You have to watch the listing to see if it goes under contract before someone contacts you. It's a crazy time! It can be very frustrating for buyers, especially if you're under any kind of time constraint.
This article by the Florida Realtors goes into detail about year-over-year growth for multiple property types (i.e. single-family homes, townhouses, etc..). It's amazing to see such an increase in closed sales, rising median prices, more new pending sales, and increased pending inventory compared to last year. I'm hesitant to make any kind of prediction on what the market will do. I don't think anyone would have predicted real estate in 2020 would have ended like it did so it's hard to make any kind of educated prediction because these are such crazy times and so much is unknown. One thing is certain and I will say it again, we are in a seller's market! With that being said, if you have been contemplating the idea of selling your home, now is the time to ask questions. Please send me an email with any questions you may have. If you prefer to keep all communication via email, that is fine with me. I know it can be annoying when you ask one question and your phone doesn't stop ringing. I won't pressure anyone to sell their home but I am always available to answer questions.
Check out the full article from Florida Realtors below:
Email me: jessicaschueller1@gmail.com
