It is HOT in Phoenix! Both our first 112 deg F (44.4 deg C) day and the housing market. I am frustrated at not being able to buy a property. If you wait to see the place there are already multiple offers.
So, we decided to change our strategy and make offers; sight unseen, based on the listing details alone. We used our screening criteria (e.g., price, location, ‘curb appeal’, HOA fees…) to quickly review all the new properties. We’re not taking a huge risk because there is a 10-day contingency period that effectively allows you to cancel the contract without a ‘hard’ reason.
On April 30th, there were two properties that passed our screen; one in East Mesa built in 1972, one in Laveen built in 2008.
Jeff, Lorraine and Jim met to review the two options:
We passed on the 1972 Mesa house due to age and curb appeal concerns and proceeded to ask the Laveen listing agent (off camera) some questions so as to formulate our best offer.
Interestingly enough, the house sat on the market for 65 days at a list price of about $204,000. It was lowered to $199,000 on Friday and they got three offers over the weekend.
Before we made our decision on whether to make an offer on the Laveen house, we reviewed a recent article based on Robert Shiller analysis that shows a ‘slowdown’ in house appreciation nationwide.
From the graph above, home appreciation has been fairly stable at about 6% for the last two years. Just recently it fell to half that, about 3%. But remember, this is nationwide data.
After some discussion and analysis of the objectives of TheMonopolyProject, the conversation with the listing agent allowed us to go forward and submit our best offer. Because of our conversation with the listing agent we were able to use our strengths to craft what we think is a winning bid. Specifically, we did not ask for any closing cost concessions and came in at “full price” offer. The house looks great on paper.
Next, we will see if ours is the WINNING offer.
The Market is HOT in Phoenix!