Have you been trying to buy a house lately in this crazy Salt Lake Market?

Don’t loose heart. There is not that much inventory right now and combine that with all the posts I have shared over the past 6 months about what a hot city Salt Lake is right now, we are in a bit of a boom. Which is great for Salt Lake and certainly keeps me busy! It is not an easy time for home purchase, but not impossible. It is a difficult time for any buyer to compete in the 250k-430k price range, because it is not considered a jumbo loan, so buyers just like you can get into a house with a minimum of cash down. Above that price range people have to sell their house in order to get into the next one. I have put in offers from my clients 25-35k over asking price only to loose the house due to an all cash buyer with an escalation clause. An example of a recent escalation clause was the cash buyer stated that no matter what my clients raised their bid to, the cash buyer would increase their bid by $2,000.

So, what can you do?
* Keep at it.
* Have a 2nd, 3rd, 4th and maybe even 5th choice of homes.
* Be willing and ready to bid over asking price in order to compete. This is not the market where you get to bargain at least not from the outset. Perhaps after inspection you might be able to get some credits for repairs, but make sure your offer is competitive.
* Think outside of the box. It is tough out there. Sellers are getting multiple offers on their house so, how are you going to stand out from the pack? Think about writing a letter telling the seller about you and your family and why you love the house and include a family photo. The want to envision who they will be handing their house over to. I even had a client who had homemade cookies delivered to the sellers door on decision day. Be willing to take a risk and eventually it will pay off.  Now, get baking!

Anne