What a year it was....2020 !!! The market was red hot and when properties came on the market they sold like hotcakes!!! Most sold wayyyyyy over asking price because of the low inventory and all the buyers wanting to take advantage of incredibly low interest rates. Who could blame them! Offers and showings weren't without their challenges though. Sellers were thrilled at all the big bucks $$ they got and all the offers, but they had to vacate the property when buyers came. We have to have booties, gloves, sanitizer, signs .... all kinds of things in order to keep everyone safe. We have to have PEAD forms that are submitted to listing agent BEFORE we show a property (that show buyers/agents aren't sick and don't have COVID) and only a few at a time are allowed inside the home during the showings. Pre-approval letters for the buyers are required almost universally too. These incredibly low interest rates from 2.0 to 3.2% were too good to pass up, so buyers were out in droves. In-person Open Houses were not allowed....virtual open houses became the norm. It still wasn't the same as viewing the property in person, but at least it gave the buyer an idea of what the inside and outside of the property looked like. Oftentimes though, it didn't show if the house backed up to a busy street or a nice park. You couldn't tell what the other homes in the neighborhood looked like either.
Case in point: I saw a listing on MLS that looked like a great buy for the money and a good location near a beautiful Country Club. When I clicked on the "map" icon for the listing it showed exactly where it was located, but did NOT show that the house directly next door looked horrible! I've driven down that street several times being I have a friend closeby, and I've always noticed the house next door that looked so terrible. It looks abandoned and vacant with all the trees and bushes covering the front and sides of the house. But there are always cars there, so someone must be living there. Imagine what a buyer feels when they drive up and see that horrible house next to the nice one that's for sale. What a shame that the condition of "that" house could affect the value of the one that's for sale. But that is probably exactly what's going to happen. My story is a little "off point" of this article, and the house will probably sell, regardless, because of low interest rates and low inventory, but my guess is that the homeowner who is selling, is going to take a hit on value because of the condition of the property next door. What a shame.
The prognostication is that 2021 will continue to be a hot real estate market for sellers. It should be a great time for buyers to buy a home as well, due to low interest rates, but it's going to be a bit of a challenge for buyers again this year because of our low inventory.
A note to potential sellers: Get your home on the market if you're even remotely thinking about it. Call or text me 916-768-3157 or call the Realtor you've used before. Ask for a market analysis showing what the current market value is of your home....it's free and your Realtor will be happy to provide it to you. You will probably be surprised and thrilled at what it's current market value is. If you aren't working with another Realtor, I'd love to help you. I've been listing and selling real estate for 40+ years now and love what I'm doing. Or pass my name and contact information along to anyone you think of who may be thinking of selling. I'd love to help them too! PATTI MARTINEZ, LYON REAL ESTATE
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