Housing market mania / Multiple offers are routine, many above the asking price — buyers coddle sellers and OK deals with few contingencies
What could will go wrong?
Tim and Trish Davis sold their five-bedroom home in Vacaville in four days. Even with a $150,000 profit from that sale earlier this month, however, they’re fighting to land a house in Moraga or Lafayette, towns closer to their jobs and with strong school systems for their two teenagers.
A week ago, the Davises offered $775,000 for a three-bedroom home listed for $725,000. There were 13 offers, eight above $800,000.
“We knew the base price (in Moraga) would be high,” said Tim Davis, a 45- year-old account manager for Coca-Cola in Oakland. “But what we didn’t realize was that the bidding war was going to be so brutal.”
Despite the plodding pace of the Bay Area’s economic recovery, the housing market is roaring, driven in part by rock-bottom interest rates and a relatively low number of properties for sale. In a flashback to the whirlwind days of the dot-com era, multiple offers of 10 or more have become increasingly common in the last few months, and desirable homes are selling within days — sometimes for $300,000 or more above the asking price.
As sellers preside over the fray, buyers are becoming more desperate. Some are letting the seller live in the home rent-free for months after the sale; others are writing offers with few — or no — contingencies. And a growing number of buyers are shouldering riskier loans in an effort to afford their dream home.
~
This is the same crap that occurred between 2002 and 2006
Here we go again
Doesn’t anybody see the writing on the wall? At the break of the housing ‘bubble’ the blame was placed on …let’s see now, the mortgage brokers and the appraisers. Well, mortgage brokers are now sooooo regulated that it is sickening, the appraisal industry also went through rampant changes shifting to AMC’s and losing revenue so who’s the culprit’s in this newer version? As a mortgage broker myself I get emails constantly about the resurgence of “sub-prime” lending. Ridiculous rates and program features with massive down payment requirements. These ‘investors’ are also offering the old no-income loans. Desperate buyers who have the funds are being led down a path of no return. Even here in Florida in my area we are already seeing a loss of inventory but a surge in the amount of available buyers! These are not the buyers of previously purchased homes that went into foreclosure or short sale – these are buyers who have remained renters while putting aside assets or previous owners who have sold homes that had their mortgage for years and years with low balances and walked away with large net profits. So, these homes that are selling far above the listing price how is it that the appraiser is able to garner a value based on current comps? Are these desperate buyers paying far and above the appraised value? Are they hoping for a rising market to cover the shortfall on value? Their stupidity in this buying frenzy will only foster another bubble and those who own homes in the surrounding area will take an even greater hit once again when the tide turns downward. You would think there would be some more intelligent people out there by now! So….here we go again and you wonder where the stolen wealth of this country went??? Aha! WHO is smarter than a 5th grader?