I've had reports on my reo.sonoma.net blog that many first time buyers just can't get in the door. They are prequalified with good emplyment and credit history, but they are running into a brick wall when they offer on homes.

"...we have been looking to buy are first house for under 205k - we have had 10 offers in and they we mostly all 25k over asking - and still we are being beat out by all cash offers and investers! it is not as easy as some would think to get a home - i wish that there was away to help eveyone like us from being beat out ..."

There has to be a better way for those of us in the industry to manage the selling cycle so it isn't so frustrating for buyers and sellers alike. I heard from Melanie Ross, an agent I respect in Vallejo, about this topic as a comment on another post I made. Melanie had this to say,

"it is a sellers market out there for REO properties. I used to be proud to say I wrote an offer, now one writes many offers before you can get one accepted. and as a REO agent, I feel for the agents bringing me multiple offers on my listings."

I have been fortunate enough to have offers accepted that weren't the high bid. I've also had dozens of offers turned down this year just like the potential buyer in the first quote. There may be no easy answer to this, but I'd love to hear the professionals here comment about their experiences with getting first time buyers into a home. We succeed best as an industry when we can keep everyone satisfied that the market is fair and open to all. When too many well-qualified people start to get shut out we need to think about ways to make our process easier to understand. Even if we are being scrupulously fair, if people are feeling upset, we have to listen to their concerns.