Foreclosed Homes For Sale In Woodbridge Virginia Are Fetching Top Dollar
Prime Woodbridge Virginia Real Estate Foreclosures In Good Condition Selling Over List Price
Yes Gentle Readers, I can read your thoughts, I can read your minds. You read, "...Selling Over List Price", and you say to yourselves, "Yeah right! Pigs are flying too."
Bidding wars for foreclosures?
"Impossible", you exclaim.
Well Gentle Reader, you can laugh it off as a joke, but the market rules, and the market is running out of homes for sale.
"But Mr Erick, Mr Erick!!! The newsman on the TV says every other house on every street is in foreclosure, and prices are in a free-fall!! Mr Erick, it's on TV, so it MUST be true!!"
All real estate is local.
See my previous post that explains the new pricing strategy used by banks called "Stupid-Low Pricing" for top-dollar sales.
My home town, San Antonio, Texas, has a real estate market that has been gently growing, with values tracking upward since the 20th Century.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas and Miami are in the flusher.
Here Is A Summary Of Results From My Last Work Week
Buyer "A" made a full-price offer on a $135,000 foreclosure, all cash. Her bid was the lowest bid out of eight (8) bids that were received by the bank within five days of going on the market. Five similar townhouses in the same subdivision sold in the $160K-$170K range in the past 90 days. She lost.
Buyer "B" made a $420,000 offer on a house listed for $450,000 on a street where similar homes have sold recently for $525,000 - $550,000. The bank received four (4) other offers OVER the $450,000 list price. The bank selected the highest and best.
Buyer "C" bid $125,000 for a house listed at $109,000. Buyer "C" lost two other houses because "C" bid list price and ended up being the bottom bidder. The house has eight (8) other bidders throwing offers over list price on the table. The listing agent hints that we are possibly the lead bidder, but we won't know until the bank chooses the winner tomorrow.
As I mentioned in my last post, banks are looking at recent "SOLD" prices for homes surrounding their foreclosed properties, the pricing their foreclosures waaaaaaaay under the "SOLD" values for what I call "Stupid-low prices".
Stupid-low prices attract a lot of attention, FAST!!
"Gee Honey, look! This house is priced at just $225,000," says Bonnie Buyer. Realtor Randy does his due diligence, showing Bonnie that other homes in the neighborhood are selling right now for $265,000 - $280,000.
Bonnie Buyer's husband, Bobby Buyer licks his chops with lustful glee and says to Realtor Randy, "What if we offer the bank $200,000? I'll bet they'll take it!"
Realtor Randy patiently shows Bobby and Bonnie the "SOLD" numbers... the last three sales were also foreclosed houses.
House "A" listed for $220,000 and sold for $280,000.
House "B" listed for $235,000 and sold for $271,900.
House "C" listed for $219,900 and sold for $265,000.
Bonnie Buyer sees the big picture. But Bobby Buyer is blinded by ego, blinded by advice from family, and Bobby is confident that he won't be so stupid to pay MORE than the list price for a house.
Randy Realtor explains to Bobby that multiple bidders created an auction effect that pushed the prices higher.
Bobby Buyer thinks to himself, "Aw, that idiot Randy Realtor don't know what he's talkin' about. Shoot, I'll bet I've FORGOTTEN more about buyin' houses than Randy will ever know".
Realtor Randy writes up an offer to buy the house for $200,000, Bobby signs it, and Bonnie cries. Bobby is smug and confident that he's gonna prove Randy Realtor is an idiot.
The bank gets seven (7) bids. All but one bid offer between $265,000 and $280,000... you can probably guess which bid was not with the rest of the pack.
The bank takes an offer for $275,000 from a buyer who is putting down a 30% down payment, who can take posession of the house in 14 days.
Randy Realtor delivers the sad news. Bonnie cries. Bobby looks at Randy with a wide-eyed expression and exclaims, "Shoot, I would have bid higher and beat that deal to get the house!!! You should have told me to bid higher!! You suck!!"
SUMMARY: A NEW "SAYING" ABOUT BUYERS HAS EMERGED AMONG SUCCESSFUL AGENTS: "They (buyers) gotta lose three houses before they wake up and get in the game."
If you are a home buyer right now, you have a choice... you can lose three houses, get your hopes and dreams squashed before you get realistic about bidding to win, or you can skip those three losses by using the market data to craft a top-dollar bid that gets you the home you want.
Get your face handed to you a few times, or wise up and accept reality.
The choice is yours.
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Erick Blackwelder or Peggy James of Erick and Company - Exit 1st Choice Realty, Woodbridge VA. Realtors®, call 703-590-2252 list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Lake Ridge, Westridge, Old Bridge Estates, River Falls, Middle County, Cannon Bluff, Meadowbrook Woods, Blooms Crossing, Manassas Park, Beaver Creek, Hunter's Ridge, Brittany, Manassas, Montclair, Dumfries, Occoquan, Dale City, Nokesville, or anywhere in Prince William County.
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