Shopping Time: Go have some fun BUT be “Strategic” here.
This should begin with a “wish list”. Often the wish lists get more realistic with time. But it’s needed as a benchmark and a starting point. Often the house you finally locate from the initial “wish list” is pretty darn close to what you went searching for only you included a few wishes that you didn’t really need.
How to Suffer in this Market
Some buyers get the idea that Sat/Sun Open Houses are where it’s at. WRONG. Homes trade hands Mon thru Fri and often waiting until the weekend can put you at a serious disadvantage should preparation be needed to advance to an offer, especially if there’s more than one competing offer. You should be out there hitting the pavement timely, especially in this immediate market with lessened supply and strong demand (in most pockets of the GTA). This is real easy. Let your agent help you narrow down some homes to see and let them make the plan and orchestrate the outing. To be fair, if you have a weak agent, this could play out like a really bad date. Some homes sell the first day on market. Just last week I listed a property in the central core and entertained 16 phone calls on Wed (property was listed on Monday). We had a few offers in play on Wed. All the callers who located the property some 48 hrs after it was listed (working off MLS.ca) were told it was too late. A shame…it was a great house in an area where there’s little supply. So if a Buyer (or in this case at least 16) have been watching this area and are ready to buy…why would they be sitting at home waiting for it to pop up on MLS.ca with a lag while competing Buyers knew of it days in advance. I will let you guess which Buyer is expecting delivery of the keys in a month!
How would you see a house before it came out so that day 1 you’d have a chance?
Simple…make sure you have a strong Agent! I’ve made sure to build relationships with my competitors/fellow agents. In turn, I can put myself on a short list for homes coming out in certain areas I work. I get a heads up. What an advantage for my Buyer!
If your strategy is to utilize MLS.ca as your main lead generator, you’re doomed. I know few guys who succeeded at sitting at the bar and waiting for the girl to give out her number. You have to be proactive. This is reactive work and it simply won’t work in this GTA housing market.
MLS.ca lags the official MLS system by up to 48 hours, so you’ve already missed some supply that your competition is aware of and may have seen and even bought.
MLS is one means of locating a home. Some Sellers for personal reasons (don’t want nosey neighbors, estate sale, don’t want sign on their lawn) entrust a sole brokerage to market their property on the hush either within the walls of the brokerage or within the network of the brokerage. So having an agent who is plugged in to the process also puts you in an advantageous position relative to most of your competition. Ask your agent about their firm’s supply and success of housing inventory off MLS.
Let your agent see homes through your eyes and get a solid feel for your needs, so that while you’re busy working, your agent is busy working on finding you a good house. Some Agents first send their Buyer to an Open House and wait to get reported back to. In many cases, the Agent has yet to see the house, so they’re really interested in your report!! Perhaps the Agent is too busy with prior commitments?
In the Real World
Depending on your price point and areas of interest, there may be fewer homes then you’d like out there. Now more than ever, you need to see homes timely and you need to be made aware of any and all opportunities outside of MLS. Make sure you’re working with an agent who will provide this…or “say hi while you’re out there on the Open House circuit”!!
ADVANTAGE: Buyer working with solid Agent.
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