Southern California has been a hotbed for real estate home prices increasing. The homes we have for sale in the inland empire tend to get multiple offers to purchase. Some of these buyers are first time home others moving up to a bigger home and some sell and buy something smaller or move out of California. Whatever is going on. Homes are selling fast especially this summer that just passed. Since the Inland Empire is the most affordable area in comparison to Orange and Los Angeles there’s a ton of competition. So the question is how do you get a deal?
First, you have to determine what is a deal to you. A deal can be a homeowner paying half of the buyers closing cost or all of it. Others feel a deal is getting the home at market value without the homeowner increasing the price because they had multiple offers. While some investors want the home under market value with enough equity to be able to keep it and rent it to make a profit. While others want enough equity to be able to flip the home and make it good return in 3-4 months when they sell it.
We continuously speak to potential customers every day. A common question they have for us is if the prices will decrease since the holidays are here and there are fewer people in the market to buy a home. At least in our office, we don’t see a huge decline in sales that’s noticeable. As a matter of fact last year we broke many company records during the holidays as to how many families we helped buy or sell a home. Will prices increase more than likely? Will they decrease in my opinion I do not see it happening just yet? Real estate like any other business has its cycles. Trying to time it is nearly impossible. Don’t get me wrong some get lucky and do time it from time to time. But it’s nothing we can guarantee will happen.
What I can tell you is that the holidays do tend to have fewer buyers actively searching for a home and the inventory of homes on the market does reduce as well. The Holidays is a good time for buyers to have less competition when they are searching for homes. Another good reason to buy is homes don’t sell as fast. That gives buyers enough time to take a look at the home and submit an offer. opposed to the home being sold by the time they take a look or submit their offer. As a homebuyer, you have a little more leverage to negotiate with the homeowners since offers are still coming in but not at the speed that they were in the summer. You have to keep in mind we are in southern California and the Inland Empire is seeing more activity since many from other counties are relocating here because of the affordable housing.
If you have to have a deal. Here are some tips. First of all, cash is king. If you are a cash buyer and can close in less than 10 days you have more leverage than any other buyer. Your only competition is another cash buyer. Another way is to look for homes that have been on the market for more than 60 days and have your real estate agent send them an offer less than list price. Your agent can also send you a list of homes that need repairs where the owner may be willing to reduce the price in lieu of you doing the repairs yourself. Check with your lender what you can and can’t do. Do to home loan guidelines your loan may or may not allow you to purchase a home that is in need of repairs. We have used in the past FHA 203k lenders that will finance homes that need repair. They also lend you the cash needed to get the necessary repairs done to make the home habitable.
There are many solutions to get a deal at the end of the year. Make sure you are speaking to the right real estate agent and lender. Not all agents and lenders are alike. Some are great for the first time buyer programs and others are better with investment property. Before moving forward double check that you are dealing with the right person and they have your best interest.