Does it make sense to buy in today’s market? I’ve been hearing this question a lot lately, and I wanted to offer insight into why my answer is a resounding, “Yes!”

I recently saw a colleague of mine post about a house they sold in 2012 for $360,000; it’s a gorgeous home. The exact same house, with just a few updates, just sold for $692,000. That’s $330,000 worth of appreciation in just about 10 years. 

Now, the home didn’t increase in value by $30,000 every year. In the last few years, home prices have grown exponentially. Most of that value came within the last 12 to 18 months. The house might have gone from $450,000 to $692,000 during that time. 

I didn’t see this coming, and I don’t think anyone in their right mind would have thought the real estate market would be rebounding like this amidst a global pandemic.

So does it make sense to buy in this market? Absolutely; real estate is a fantastic long-term investment. I guarantee that $692,000 home is going to sell for over a million dollars one day. The question is, do you want to be involved in a great investment like that?

If you have any real estate-related questions for me, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon. 

When you sell your house and the appraisal does not meet the contract price, what do you do? This has happened to me two or three times in the last month, despite only happening to me five other times in the last 16 years. For it to happen three times in the last month is a big deal.

"These are the kind of sticky situations that you run into when selling your house."

Those were two great situations for the buyer and the seller. Everybody was happy, but what happens if the appraisal comes in under contract price and the buyer doesn't want to move forward? You have a couple of other options. In today's market, I'd be fine with that happening if it was my property. I would put it right back on the market and probably sell it for a little bit more depending on what was going on in your area.

Today I’m talking about how buyers in this market can navigate multiple-offer situations. 

So you're a buyer looking for a home, and maybe you work Monday through Friday, 8 p.m. to 5 p.m., and your agent texts you at 10 p.m. saying the perfect house just hit the market. If you've been a buyer for a little while in this market, you've probably gotten to that house at 6 a.m. only to find that it's already sold. We’re seeing buyers getting burned out from things like this. How do you handle that?

I always want to inspect a house before putting an offer on it. Any Arkansas real estate association contract is going to have an inspection period. If a good house hits the market at 10 a.m. but you can't get there until 5:30 p.m., go ahead and write the offer at whatever price you're comfortable with. It may get rejected or thrown out, but at least you're on the hunt.

"We’re seeing buyers getting burned out from things like this."

Write the offer contingent upon your inspection. Having an inspection doesn't mean you have to find something majorly wrong with the house to walk away from that contract. Your inspection can be you walking in and saying that the bedroom's too small, the layout doesn't work, or the kitchen's just not exactly what you wanted. The inspection contingency is a strategy that we have used in the past, and it works out very well, especially in a hot market like today.

Another trick we have is when you write an offer, be flexible on the closing date. If you can tell a seller that once we close you’ll give them X more days to move out, that won’t cost you any money, and it will make your offer look so much better. If you have kids, write a letter to the seller about how you can see your kids playing in the backyard and all those memories being made. A heartfelt letter will go a long way with an offer as well.

If you have any real estate questions, reach out to me and let me know; my cell phone number is (870) 919-4968. If you're thinking about buying or selling, I’m here to help. Have a blessed day, and we'll talk soon.

Homes have been selling with multiple offers, many of them getting well over their asking prices. Truth be told, I don’t know how long these market conditions will last, but I don’t see them slowing down anytime soon. 

That said, it’s still a good idea to get your home ready for the market. Buyers may be hungry for properties, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll make offers on homes they deem in poor condition. Walk around your home and look for any cosmetic issues that need to be addressed. Cosmetic issues could include paint, floors, countertops, and so on. Be sure to touch up any scratches or scuffs.

"It may take some time for subcontractors to get around to the small jobs."

You should know, however, that subcontractors in our area are very busy, so if you don’t have any major renovation plans, it may take some time for them to get around to the small jobs. I also can’t tell you exactly how much you’ll be able to recoup in this market, but you’ll probably be able to price your home at a number you’re comfortable with and still leave enough money on the table for your buyer to go in and make the changes they want.

If you’re in the market to sell a home or have questions about specific ways to prepare your home for the market, please reach out to us. We’re here to help.

Whether you’re listing your home in Northeast Arkansas or anywhere else in the U.S., there’s one trend I keep seeing over and over: If the home is clean, neat, and ready to sell, most of the time it’ll get multiple offers. What’s the best way to handle multiple offers, though?

For starters, hopefully your listing agent lets other agents know that there are multiple offers on the table. Sometimes this scares other buyers off because they don’t want to get into a bidding war. However, we’ve found that after these same buyers have lost out on a house or two (or three), they’re willing to step up to the plate because they understand they’ll have to engage in a bidding war if they want a house in this market. 

That said, my team and I use the ‘highest and best’ method when handling multiple offers. Let’s say one of our sellers gets three offers for their home: one for $10,000 over asking price, one for $11,000 over asking price, and one for $12,000 over asking price. Let’s also imagine that one of these offers is an excellent offer—an offer the seller might even be willing to accept. When you have multiple offers, though, why not play those offers against each other?

In this case, we’d contact each agent, tell them we have multiple offers on the table, and give them notice that we’ll go over all the offers at, say, 5 p.m. If they want to leave their offers as they are, that’s fine, but now they know there are multiple offers on the table, and there’s a good chance the seller won’t counter any of them. They’ll probably just accept one of them because they’re all at or above list price. Now their client has the opportunity to put their best foot forward. 

Three to six months ago, if a buyer would’ve written an offer for a property, they probably would’ve gotten a counteroffer detailing which terms the seller would accept. Nowadays, the seller doesn’t have to do that. You can basically say that you have other offers and need the highest and best brought to you by a certain time. At that point, you can go over the offers and pick whichever one suits your needs. 

If you’d like to know more about juggling multiple offers, know what your home is worth in this market, or are thinking of buying a home, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help you.

If you’re a buyer in today’s crazy market, there are three things you need to do as soon as possible if

you want to be ready:

1. Get pre-qualified. If you’re financing your home purchase, you need to have a letter from a bank

that says you’re approved to buy a house for X amount, or else sellers perceive your offer as being

riskier to accept.

2. Get proof of funds. If you’re paying in cash, be sure to provide proof of funds, and mention in

your offer that you’re buying without any financing contingencies to put yourself in an even stronger

position.

3. Work with a superstar real estate agent (like me!). While people can go online to get

information about the properties they’re interested in as well as whatever information the listing

agent wants them to know, you can’t find out all the down-and-dirty stuff that goes on behind the

scenes.

There are many things about a property that you might need to know; a superstar agent will know to

ask about the seller’s property disclosure, utilities, bills of insurance, HOA requirements, and so on.

You also need to make sure that the agent you choose has experience in this fast-paced market.

It’s important that they’ve been through the ups and downs of the market so they know how to adjust

to shifting circumstances.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to me for any questions you have or help you need. I’d be happy to help

you navigate this market so that you can get a great deal on your next home and move on to a new

stage in life.

What’s the latest news from our Jonesboro real estate market? The biggest challenge we’re

facing is inventory. There aren’t enough homes on the market to meet demand. That means

if a home comes on the market that you’re interested in and fits all your criteria, you need to jump

on it. You have to get after it, because if you don’t, someone else will. If you’re a seller, this means

you can probably ask whatever you want in terms of price. Due to this lack of inventory, we’re

seeing houses sell for more money than I’ve ever seen before. 

Another reason resale home prices are surging is that lumber prices for new construction homes

have gone through the roof. In fact, just about everything you see on a new construction home has

increased in price dramatically. If new construction homes cost between $140 and $150 per square

foot, sellers who perhaps paid $120 per square foot for their current homes can now ask for $125

to $130 per square foot.

      I always used to say that real life is not like HGTV, but guess what? Now it is.

This obviously isn’t great news for buyers, but the silver lining is that you can lock in a ridiculously low interest rate right now. It seems like I’ve been talking about this for the past 15 years. Every time we think rates can’t possibly get any lower, they do. We’re seeing 15- and 30-year fixed rates as low as 2.9%, 2.5%, and even 2.1%. Although you’ll have to pay more for a home, some of the cost is offset by how low your monthly mortgage payment will be. 

In addition to being ready to jump on the next suitable listing, have your pre-qualification letter in-hand when you visit it because there’s an agent in front of you and an agent behind you showing that home. We recently listed a couple of homes that literally had lines outside their doors mere hours after going live on the market. I never thought I’d see that here in Jonesboro. I always used to say that real life is not like HGTV, but guess what? Now it is. As always, make sure you get in touch with a great real estate agent so they can guide you through the home-buying process. 

If you’d like to know what your home is worth or have questions about our Jonesboro market, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

Today I was going to show off some really awesome listings that recently became available on the market, but as it turns out, they all flew off the market before we even got a chance to publish this blog post! That just goes to show you how hot this market truly is.

1. 805 Smithfield, Jonesboro, AR 72401—$299,000. This 4-bed, 3.5-bath home is newly constructed and sold for a great price.

2. 5109 Deerfield Dr., Jonesboro, AR 72404—$174,900. This 3-bed, 2-bath home has brand-new flooring in the main living area and the hallways. Being priced under $175,000, there was no way that it would stay on the market for long!

     Buyers in the market need to make sure they’re acting quickly.