Just this past week, several agents in my office were discussing an extremely frustrating weekend trying to find their buyers a home. Three of the agents all bid on the same home in Chesterfield that was listed for $550K. The home was nicely renovated and in a prime school district and neighborhood. There were 15 offers on this home and the winning bid had to be over $610K which one of our agents had their buyers write for and lost – they came in second! To say our market is a feeding frenzy right now is quite the understatement! The listing agent sent all who made appointments to see this home an email with the seller’s criteria for any offer that would be made. No appraisals, no contingency for financing, waiving building inspections – all demanded before anyone set foot in the home. Unbelievable. A friend of mine has a relative in Toronto, Canada….his home listed for $1.1 Million and was an older bungalow home that had been beautifully renovated. It sold for $200K over ask. Even more unreal. But true and if you are a seller….a huge win. I cannot speak to the market in Toronto….but here in our area, it’s crazy. We are seeing this all over St. Louis and St. Charles Counties and even in the City! See stats below:

Percentage of listings is down in both St. Charles and St. Louis Counties….up slightly in the city. Inventory is at just over a month in all three areas – note: the usual supply is 3-6 months for a balanced market! What’s even more interesting is average sale prices are up 11% in St. Charles, 21% in the city and 24% in St. Louis County….as my story at the beginning of this blog post pointed out! So the story here is if you are thinking of selling there could not be a better time. Sellers basically rule right now!

Buyers are having a bit of a tough time just due to the competition but if you are a buyer that can pay cash, waive financing contingencies, offer no appraisal, and even perhaps scale back inspections (I would not necessarily recommend this) then you definitely have the advantage over other buyers. And interest rates are still historically low so buyers continue to be able to afford more because of this. For first time buyers and those who need financing contingencies and their agents, it can be a difficult road.

Home ownership is still the hallmark of the American Dream and the largest asset that most people have. If you have been thinking of selling for whatever reason, CALL ME! There could not be a better time. And if more people list, there will naturally be more inventory so the pressure for buyers will ease. WIN WIN.