Elizabeth- Our market is declining yet I have had my best year ever and it is only April.....Lots of opportunities if you are out there working and if you are nice to people. Too many in my market are not answering calls or returning emails. I find the ones that are working are thriving.

Best,

Scott 

Elizabeth -  We are seeing the same thing here to the south of you in Stanislaus county.  Almost all of my REO listings are selling within a week or two.  I just submitted an offer over the weekend, I am one of 16. Believe me I remember the agents that submit offers on my listings that are courteous, professional and deliver on thier promises.

Elizabeth - Great point. Numerous offers in a buyers market is great for the buyers would at some time in the future will become sellers. It means the buyers really are purchasing a great house.

Hi Scott: Not only are agents not returning phone calls, but they don't even want to talk to you unless you send them an offer. So it's hard to get the back story or find out if other offers have been submitted.

Hi Jim: I, too, remember the agents who are courteous, professional and let's face it, fun to work with. The agents who call with demands and are rude -- how in the world do they ever think their buyer will get an offer accepted if nobody likes that agent? When buyers tell me they can't get an offer accepted come hell or high water, I suggest they take a good hard look at their agent's personality. He or she could be alienating other agents from the get-go.

Hi Jill: Buyers today are thinking toward the future and wondering if they are paying too much, whether their value will decline or appreciate and how to protect their hard-earned equity, and through multiple offers, it drives home the point. The point being if other buyers want it now, imagine how many buyers will want it in a seller's market. And we will return to a seller's market. We always do. The market moves in cycles.

Elizabeth, yep, our market is requiring that we work harder, but I've always found that if the other agent likes "me" that works in our buyer's favor. Good job!!!

Hey Teri: Liking the other agent is 50% of the deal. At least. Since I wear both hats and sometimes represent buyers -- sometimes represent buyers (but rarely, if ever, in the same transaction), I know precisely what goes through the minds of listings agents, as I'm certain you do, too.

Elizabeth,

Who are the buyers right now?  First time home buyers, investors snapping up the foreclosures? 

Our market is slowly improving.  The median price for homes sold so far this month is $203,000, which concurs with what I'm seeing and that's first time home buyers and investors (pent-up demand) and they're lall ooking for a deal.

I am in property management and it is nice to hear sales are booming.  I had no trouble selling my own home last month.  My property managment business is busy too in Sacramento.

Elizabeth, Same here! We are getting multiple offers on our listings. It is really picking up! We are very busy and loving it. Ever since December, the buyers started coming. Thanks for sharing! Katerina

Hi Fran:

Yup, first-time home buyers and investors are going neck-to-neck. There's a lot of junk on the market but it's slowly being weeded out. So, if a home is in turnkey condition, a great location and priced right, it will have multiple offers. But the REOs are doing a brisk pace, too. All this activity is in conflict with what buyers read in the Sacramento Bee because buyers don't understand that every neighborhood market is different. Areas of high demand are in flux.

The skeptics are quickly won over after they lose a few deals, though. :)

Hi Robert: You probably priced your home at market or slightly below, right?

Hi Katerina: Florida. Good to hear your market is heating up, too. 

I'm just going to be your cheerleader right now!  Woo Hoo!  Our time will come, here.  It will happen! 

There is an increase in my area too a well...the calls are coming in and I keep telling people that things are picking up.  Good for you too....

Elizabeth, I am seeing multiple offers in the RENTAL market, For purchases we have plenty of sellers, with lately a slow price decline and sales down significantly year over year. Foreclosures are still rising.

Fairbanks hasn't quite picked up that much... we're getting there but we're far from setting records.  Kathy and I are thankful to still be busy but it wouldn't hurt my feeling to see it pick up a little more.

I have two buyers who we have been playing the counter offer game with and myself being new to all of this is really enjoying the pressure! LOL

My short sales on the other hand well (Lets not go there)

Glad to hear your business is doing well.

I'm happy to hear that the market is picking up in some areas.  I do mainly investment, retirement, and second home waterfront properties in rural VA.  Had 1 showing over the weekend out of 23 extremely nice homes....lots of inventory and few buyers in my part of the world.  I'm still seeing a decline in activity from phone calls to emails and showings are way down.  We are heading toward our prime time, so keep your fingers crossed that things pick up for all.

Elizabeth - I am definitely busier than last year, and have buyers that are wanting to buy . . . it is a positive trend!

Thanks, Natalie. Your time will come, too. I am confident.

Hi Netta: I know when you tell people that things are picking up, they tend not to believe you. Many consumers distrust agents and think all we do is punch the hype, which as you know, we've certainly been guilty of doing at times. But this is not one of those. 

Hi Gary: I bet the rental market is exploding. Those evicted foreclosure owners have to live somewhere.

Hi Jesse: Hey, I see you changed your link. Well, at least now I know to whom I am responding, LOL.

Hi Christina: Multiple offers can drive a sane people nuts, so I'm glad you're holding your own. It is challenging, and that's part of the fun. I joined forces with a real estate agent who is also a lawyer and give her all my short sales. She's been going to town on those like nobody's business.

Hi Yvonne: I'm not surprised to hear that high-end homes are lagging, but aren't your investors writing offers hand over fist right now?

Hi Sharon: Our pending sales doubled in the tri-county area last month, and our average square foot has increased! It is a positive trend. I see a big jump in closings for April. We might even surpass last year's closings this month.

Good job! And I am glad to hear that your business is doing well, especially since you are in California. We hear so much about how bad business is and especially for Cal and Florida! Newspapers and tv are simply selling their product, at our expense!!!!!

Elizabeth - Glad to hear Sacramento buyers are coming out in droves! In the Rogue Valley, we're experiencing what Fran Gatti described above - first time home buyers and investors competing for the lower price ranges. That market segment has been shaken up by the many changes in lending criteria, and I think they are rushing to buy while they can get the financing they need. Our area is reliant on the relos from your neck of the woods, too, which makes your news especially good for us. Thanks for the info!

Hi Bob: Well, I see the news is picking up on the fact that first-time home buyers are getting some really good bargains right now.

Hi Karen: I see the same thing here. First-time home buyers and investors are buying. For the first time in many years, investors are able to cash flow.