Can I avoid being in a bidding war when buying a home

Hey, if you're thinking about buying a home soon, one of the things you might be thinking about is that you don't want to be in a bidding war and that you don't want to overpay. So here's what I'm going to tell you if I understand. The problem is there's really low inventory out there and there's high demand. So the chances are that you're probably going to be in a bidding war. In fact, I would say 90% of the homes that our clients have purchased, unless we purchased them before they hit the market, our clients were in a bidding war. So that's one possibility is if you are willing to throw down on a place before it hits the market and come in strong to convince the seller not to put their house active, maybe you can avoid being in a bidding war. We've had several clients that do that and it is a great way to get in and not be in a bidding war.

It doesn't mean that they're coming in below the list price. It means that they're coming in strong and they're saying, "Hey, seller, take my money. We want your house. Don't put it on that market. Take our money." Okay, well, that's a strong play and I totally would recommend that.

On the flip side, if you're like, nah, I don't like that. That kind of freaks me out or we can't find it quick enough or whatever the reason is. If you wait for the home to go active, the chances are that there's other people who see it and are also going to throw it down on it. So what I'm going to say is don't worry about that. You got to pay what you're comfortable with paying. There's a point where you're not going to be comfortable. At that point, don't do it. So don't worry about bidding against other people. Worry about whether it meets your goals? Is it inside your budget? And at what point does it make sense for you?

So if it does, go for it. Again, there's going to be an amount. I mean, let's just take for an example the place is worth... I don't know. Let's say not worth, but let's say it's listed at 425 and you're like hey, you know what? I saw a whole bunch of other places. This is better than any of them up to 475. You gotta ask yourself at what price point would you still be comfortable owning the home and for a dollar more, you would've been okay at losing it? Maybe that's 450, maybe that's 475. I don't know. It depends on you. Maybe it's 425. If it's 425, you probably won't get it, but that's your comfort level.

So I'm not here to make you poor. I'm here to say that this is not one of the markets for the squeamish. So if you're not one to be in a bidding war, either come in strong upfront, or maybe you might just have to sit on the sidelines, because it is a tough market. But you know what? Interest rates are low and the affordability index is low. It's still a great time to buy. The most amazing part is that it's a great time to buy. There's just very few choices and they're going really, really fast.

Hope that makes sense. If you are curious about some of the strategies or want to talk it out, let us know. Click the learn more button below, schedule a free strategy session with us and we'd love to hear more about your home buying goals and if we can possibly help. I wish you luck on your home buying journey. I'm Brendan Spear with Caprika Realty. Have a great day.

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