Spring House Hunting Tips Full Story


The Easter Egg, I mean the House Hunt Experience!

If you’ve been to open houses lately, the picture below will look very familiar!  Lot’s of buyers scrambling after too few houses.  The result?  Multiple offers and over asking prices.

easter egg hunt

And really, who can blame them? With 30 year mortgage rates well under 4%, the Boston economy flourishing and rents sky high ($3,500 one bed anyone?), there’s never been a more compelling time to buy.

With the spring market ramping up, I’m happy to share my tips and tools to help make sure you get to put a new home in your Easter basket this spring!

Tips for the Hunt

  • Be prepared for going over asking by looking at homes below the top of your budget. With most properties going over asking, make sure you have room in your budget to allow for that and remain competitive with other buyers.
  • Be flexible in terms of features and location in your search, especially if you are hitting your budget ceiling with over asking offers. The Boston area has many wonderful neighborhoods at varying price points so you do have options.
  • Be open minded and don’t look only at pretty homes. Consider homes that don’t show well or appear dated. With those homes you’ll have less or perhaps no competition. Even better, a coat of paint and a few appliance updates not only quickly and dramatically change a home, they can add value right from the start and who doesn’t love that?!?
  • Be on on the lookout for the overlooked. Homes that don’t sell quickly get stigmatized fast. Maybe it’s overpriced or doesn’t show well. That’s good! The seller may be shocked their home didn’t sell right away and may now negotiate. And since buyers are focused on the newest listings, you may have little or no competition if you offer on a “leftover”.
  • Be market smart. Are you consistently seeing little to no homes that meet your criteria and price parameters? Don’t always chalk that up to low inventory. With prices rising it could be that your budget and your requirements no longer match. That 4 bed in your dream neighborhood that was hard to find for $850K last year may now be going for a $1M. If you can adjust your budget, fantastic.  If not, we can still find a terrific home if we prioritize the most important features and/or be a bit more flexible on location.
  • Be fast. If you’ve been searching without success for months, or think you’ll wait till the market cools, beware! People who bought last year or the year before have already enjoyed large gains. Procrastination is not your friend in a market with rising home prices. Check out my recent article on Boston Housing prices for more thoughts on home price trends. The sooner you buy, the sooner your investment will appreciate.

Tools for the Hunt

There are a Zillow, I mean a zillion home search sites out there. Many have good content but their listing accuracy can be way off in many ways. Some don’t even get updated right away when new properties hit the market. My recommendation for 3rd party sites is Realtor.com. But be sure to take advantage of my tools as well:

Newly redesigned KenSnyderHomes.com.  With my recently updated website you can easily do the following now, with more features rolling out over the next few months:

  • Create you own property searches based on specific neighborhood names (e.g. Back Bay, Coolidge Corner, Davis Square, etc.)
  • Create custom map bases searches. Just draw the region you want to search, and you can cross neighborhood boundaries too.
  • Enjoy same day notification or properties as soon as they hit the MLS
  • Enjoy large format photos in email property updates
  • Check open house times
  • Use the sight on any device – it’s mobile browser friendly

Speaking of mobile, did you know I also have my own Mobile Search App?  With my app you’ll be able to find properties for sale adjacent to wherever you happen to be, including seeing any nearby open houses! You can also search for properties on the app, see detailed info, save them to your account, and instantly reach me if you need more info on a property. It works on Apple and Android devices including tablets.

To get the app, simply go to https://app.kw.com/KW2G78POD on your mobile device or if you are reading this on your device now, just click this link.  You can also text kw2g78pod to 87778 to get the link on your phone.

In Conclusion

The reasons to buy are more compelling than ever. That’s why there are so many buyers out there. So yes, the hunt can be a challenge. But with the right mindset and strategy we can successfully find your first/next home.

And if you have a home to sell, hooray! There has NEVER been a better time to do it. Think about it. What better time to achieve a record price on your home, trade up to a more expensive home at this year’s prices rather than next year’s even higher ones, and perhaps most compelling of all, lock into a larger mortgage at some of the lowest rates we’ve ever seen, even for jumbo loans.

So whether you are buying, selling, or both, I’ve got my Easter basket with me and I’m ready to help!  Just call or email and let the hunt begin!

Happy Easter!

Ken
P.S. Know of someone who could use my help buying or selling? Simply forward this email and cc me as well (ken@kensnyderhomes.com) and I’ll do the rest. I love working with friends of great clients and friends like you and I promise to take excellent care of them as well!