ABOUT NORMAN SINAI Norman Sinai is a full time real estate Broker, specializing in selling the East Bay Area. Normans experience spans several hundred real estate transactions over 23 years. With clients ranging from traditional home buyers & sellers, commercial, land, first time buyers & successful investors. Along with consistently being a top listing and buyers agent in both Alameda & Contra Costa counties, Norman previously hosted the weekly radio show "The Real Estate Rumble" on both 1220 Am KDOW, and 910 AM KNEW for several years, as a consumer advocacy real estate expert. Norman is also a licensed loan officer. Please contact Norman Sinai for any of your real estate needs, you'll be glad you did !
5 Tips for Buying a Home in Today’s Sellers Market By Norman Sinai
Get your loan preapproval done first Sounds pretty basic right? You should know how much home you can afford before you go shopping. However many people contact my office about a property for sale, thinking they know their loan amount they will qualify for and the associated payment, only to find out it varies from what they initially thought once they talk to a lender. Its a known fact, sellers will not entertain offers without a buyer being pre approved, so its strongly recommended to get your loan pre approval done first to put you in the home shopping game. This not only allows you to be positioned to shop and make an offer, but to avoid any surprises for the type of loan and the amount your pursuing.
Learn the average list to sale price in the area your shopping in Most home buyers will look at homes online and get familiar with areas and the prices of homes, however, these are the listing price being shown to would be buyers...what they actually sell for is a separate number, and today, that number can be substantially higher. So make sure to ask your Realtor to tell you what the style of homes in the location you are shopping, are actually selling for. This is some of the first data we share with our buyers when we get started in the home buying process and will help you position yourself appropriately in the correct price range.
Be clear on your maximum housing budget Often, home buyers will get pre approved for a loan, and are given a maximum loan amount they qualify for, and then consider dialing it back to a more conservative number as their maximum they want to spend, only to find out when offering on properties, they are back at that initial maximum loan amount to get the home they want especially in a competitive market. While this goes hand in hand with tip 2, of knowing the actual sale prices in the area your shopping, it is good to be mindful of having a true maximum price and hard stop in your budget when starting out. This should be discussed with your Realtor from the start. Sometimes this can open up additional areas in a bit of a higher price point, or rule others out when tip 3 & 4 are fully considered. (Your probably getting the hint that price point expectations often change as the home shopping process evolves)
Get intimate with the sellers wants and needs, and meet them In todays sellers market, being competitive is essential. I have had more conversations than I could count where a prospective home buyer told me, “im not interested in getting into a bidding war” only to end up waiting for the market to change and getting priced out of the market. In todays market, its almost expected you will run into others wanting to offer on the same house...and in some cases, many many others. However, there are ways to gain an advantage over other buyers, by knowing the sellers wants and needs. While it can often be plainly a matter of getting the highest price, which is typically what matters most to a seller, after price, it could be things like: Offering additional time in the home after close of escrow to give the seller time to find their next home. Offering a free rentback in the home after the close of escrow. Give them that additional time in the home after close, at no cost. Raising the earnest money deposit. Shortening or removing certain contingencies of your purchase. Ultimately, your Realtor will need to reach out to the sellers listing Realtor and inquire about these things which can help guide you in crafting your offer.
Understand the timing component and be on top of the listing inventory In todays market, its important that buyers understand the sense of urgency needed to secure a home. Whether its scheduling to see the property as quickly as possible once it hits the market, (often there is a limited number of showing appointments offered for a given home due to Covid-19 showing restrictions and they run out !) to submitting an offer on the property...speed is essential. A common mistake I see is buyers watching the internet and thinking a property is still for sale, when in fact it garnered many showings the first 1-3 days, and already has multiple offers being negotiated on it, and the buyers havent even seen the home yet...speed is essential to be in the shopping game. The trick is to have a coordinated effort with your Realtor to be aware of and preview homes that hit the market in real time, as soon as possible. This often means tying into their local multiple listing service in real time to be on the same shopping platform, seeing the same data in real time.
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