The recent turmoil in the financial and insurance industries has definitely caused concern amongst the buyers that are out there today in the Larchmont market; our community is only 20 minutes outside Manhattan and many of the residents work in these industries or for foreign companies in NYC so while they may not have been directly impacted, they are concerned about what might happen to them or their companies. Other buyers that have no direct connection to these troubled industries have indicated a desire to slow down their home search to see how things work out in the next few months mainly because they have seen the market impact their long term investments in a negative way.
All this being said, recent activity has slowed a bit but overall homes are still selling well. The strongest segment for the last few months has been the under $2M price range. Properties in this range are selling well provided they are priced correctly. In addition, the properties that are selling well do not have any "quirks" or odd features that would turn-off a buyer-buyers are much more discerning today and not willing to put up with small rooms, a weird floor plan or similar issues. The $2M price range has been stagnating with homes sitting longer than average market times and going through multiple price reductions. This will most likely continue until next month. Now, there have been a few homes in the $2M to $3M price range that have sold immediately some with multiple bids but this is not the norm.
Multiple offers are still happening as well on the properties that are priced well and offer a lot of value. While they are not happening on every transaction, the fact that they are shows you the strength of the market here. This is also a result of a low inventory of homes this past quarter (compared to last year year). A word of advice to buyers that are competing in these scenarios. Many of these deals have seem to come apart right before or after contract signing for many reasons (mainly buyers are nervous). If you are one of the bidders that did not win the initial bid, do not despair. Have your agent keep in touch with the listing agent and call a few days after a deal is accepted, you may be surprised that you have another chance to purchase the home.
The next few months will definitely be interesting in Larchmont. My advice to buyers is to stay educated about the market and be prepared by having a recent mortgage preapproval to submit with any offer. For sellers, price correctly and prep your home so it presents well for buyers and beware of multiple offers.
Comments(2)