10% Over Asking Isn’t Enough?

10% Over Asking Isn’t Enough?

This is a crazy market. There is little doubt on that fact.

We are seeing shortages in all walks of our life… From chip shortages which are creating shortages in cars and electronics to shortages in lumber and now even Gasoline! So I guess it’s no surprise that it’s no different with Housing.

But is now offering 10% or more over a seller’s asking price not enough? Is 10% the new minimum for many homes for Sale in Boston?

This last weekend we put four offers in for our clients. They were great offers with relaxed home inspection contingency thresholds between $5,000 to $7,5000, flexible closing dates with Suitable Housing Clauses for the Sellers and all of them were 10% or more over asking price.

On one offer we went 20% over asking price. On this house there were 69 other competing offers. 70 offers in total! We did not win this bid…

Another offer we wrote was a cash offer that was 10% over asking price with a flexible closing date and a $7,500 home inspection contingency threshold. But here is the kicker… This house was directly next door to a sewage treatment plant. We lovingly started referring to this house as the “Poo House”. We confirmed that there were no health hazards living next to a sewer treatment plant. Our client was excited about this house and had no issues with the environment. We figured we had this one in the bag…. Cash offer over 10% above asking with a big home inspection threshold! I mean come on! But no, that wasn’t even enough to win the Poo House bid.

And we were not able to secure the other 2 offers either. So, we went 0 for 4 in getting offers accepted. With all the offers at least 10% above asking price and what would be considered very strong terms for the seller.

So why these stories? Because it is important that people see some of the realities of the current Boston Real Estate Market. A buyer today needs to be ultra-competitive. There are no “deals” out there. The deal is the cheap interest rates locked in for the next 30 years.

If a house has multiple offers, then don’t waste yours, the sellers or your agents time in coming below asking price. If a house is above your price range or even at the top of your price range… Don’t go and view it right away. Wait to see if after the initial weekend it is still available. This will ultimately save you time… And heart ache.