Buyers Beware – Market Turnaround Ahead Multiple offers?  New listings gone in under a week?  Is this the Denver real estate market?
Yes!  In our medium price ranges, $250,000 to $800,000, things are going fast.  I’ve had several brokers in my office tell me that they’ve been in competitive bidding situations recently.  More than one – sometimes they’ve actually had two or three competitive bids on houses for the same buyers.  That must be surprising for buyers who read the main-stream media and think they should still be underbidding for everything.
Buyers – you need your broker’s advice more than anytime now.  Ask to see recent comparable sales in the neighborhood you’ve identified before you make an offer.  Sometimes a house is already competitively priced, or at least well-priced.  Sometimes there’s room for a bit of negotiation, sometimes there’s room for a lot.
Another important piece of information to know about a house is how many days the house has been on the market.  A short time on the market usually indicates less room for negotiation.  A short time on the market and well-priced means very little room for negotiation.
If the house you love is also in tip-top condition, recently remodeled or brand new, then there is more of a chance it will sell quickly.
When we see multiple offers, there are usually 3 things in common:

• They’re well-priced.
• They’re in Central Denver neighborhoods – not so much the suburbs.
• They’re in top showing condition.

Buyers who buy today are going to look back a year from now and find they’re sitting in the cat-bird seat.  That’s when we’ll all realize the market turnaround began in the summer of 2008.