Well after sitting on the sidelines all summer the first time buyers are back in the Vancouver Washington real estate market.  Suddenly they have been coming out of the woodwork this fall.  I have seen several multiple offer situations in the starter home market and the best priced starter homes seem to be disappearing quite quickly.  Sometimes they are disappearing within a month of being on the market.  Considering that the average time on market right now in our are is over 70 days, this is quite fast.  Beyond this, both the lenders I know and the other agents I know who work with first time buyers are saying that they are quite busy.

What does this mean for prospective buyers?  Well some of the leverage they had with sellers early in the fall seems to be disappearing this winter.  I recently put in an offer with a builder who was offering townhomes at a starter home price and they refused to negotiate away from their asking price.  When I investigated how many units they were closing a month it was easy to see why.  They were closing between five and six a month during the fall.  While that isn't a super fast pace it is fast enough for a savvy builder to turn down an offer unless the buyer is willing to pay the asking price.

There are still many many starter homes on the market in Vancovuer Washington and you certainly can still negotiate with sellers.  Certainly when you are considering repairs you can expect most sellers to be accomidating.  However, some of the great deals and desperation of the early fall seems to be going away.

For you sellers who have a starter home.  If you are not getting showings you really need to look at price.  There are certainly buyers available for a home which is a good value but there are not enough of them yet to justify a premium price for a home.

Erik