May, 2009 Closing Stats…if You are not Overbidding, You are not Buying any Homes

Westcoe Realtors, Riverside California…Wow…amazing stats coming out of our most recent closing info from the local Riverside area MLS.  For all the homes that closed escrow in May, 65% closed at a price equal or higher than the list price.  The actual numbers are 495 closings, with 320 at or above the list price…hence the 65% figure.

This is supply and demand at it’s finest, (more buyers than properties for sale), coupled with low initial pricing on the repos available for sale.  The bottom line here is that if you are looking for a well priced home in today’s market, you better be ready to jump into a bidding process…otherwise, you will be on the outside looking in…because most of the 35% of the inventory that is selling below list price is overpriced to begin with.

Moral to today’s story…good buys are all around us, but don’t get hung-up on the list price as the end-all, be-all.  You will still get good value for your homebuying dollar, but the list price is where you start…not where you finish.  Just ask the 320 people who figured it out in May.