Remember a little while back, when I mentioned that the market was definitely still red hot in the City, but that it was slowing down in the suburbs? I lied. But not on purpose. That was truly what was happening in some of the suburban listings in our area. So how did I come to this new found revelation? I recently experienced it.
I took an amazing couple to go see some homes in a suburb about 25 minutes away from downtown Richmond. We saw a couple of homes in the same neighborhood, and at each showing, it seemed eerily quiet. It had been a while since I had not seen another agent with their clients either in the home or waiting outside while we were touring, but here we were. Not a soul in sight, looking at homes in this beautiful community.
My clients loved the home, and wanted to move forward on submitting an offer, so I did what I would normally do on a Saturday after a showing, I followed up with the Listing Agent.
There was a deadline to submit offers on Monday, and with this still being Saturday, I was not going to be shocked if there were no offers in yet, and that people were going to wait until Sunday afternoon to submit. This is what I have been encountering lately. However, this was certainly not the case this time around.
The listing agent was absolutely lovely to talk with. When I asked if she was willing to give me any insights into how many offers she had, she told me 5, and that they were expecting at least two more. I was shocked. I knew that this house would undoubtedly have multiple offers, but I was not expecting them to have 5 in hand two days before the deadline. Ultimately, we did not win out, which is okay, it is a tough market out there. But having more than ten offers come in on a home where there were not many multiple offer situations over the Summer has completely changed the game heading into the Fall.
Summer is always pretty slow in the real estate market in Richmond, however this year it has been a little hot and cold. There are times when it seems like things are dragging and not going as quickly, and there are times when it seems like homes are selling lightning fast. Trying to time or predict the market is always going to be difficult. What's my recommendation? Getting in the game is going to teach you more about the market, than trying to predict what is going to happen next. Once you get an opportunity to get out there and go through the process, then you will have a better understanding of what it takes to successfully sell or purchase a home. Any questions there, I am here as always.
