How To Beat The Competition In A Hot Housing Market

Louisville is one of the hottest real estate markets in America. Many of the homes in the area are selling at or above the asking price and staying on the market for an even shorter period. This has greatly limited the available inventory of for-sale homes. If you’re in the Louisville market to buy a home, you’ll most likely be facing increased competition and bidding wars.

 

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With hot market areas in Louisville like St. Matthews, Germantown, Schnitzelburg and parts of the Highlands facing increasingly low inventory levels and 10-plus-year highs in sales, finding your dream residence can be a challenge. How do you beat the competition in a hot housing market like Louisville?

Get Preapproved

According to Nerdwallet, getting a pre-approval is a ‘must’ in a competitive housing market like Louisville. Don’t even bother putting in an offer if you haven’t taken the time to get pre-approved. Sellers in a hot market are looking for more than just your offer amount. Most look for interested buyers who are ready to complete a sale.

When submitting an offer, include a letter from your bank stating that your lender has already underwritten your application and is pending appraisal. Before you even start making offers, make sure that your lender already has a hold on your financial documents. This ensures you can quickly pounce on a home and make an offer when you find the one you want.

Know What You Want

What type of neighborhood do you wish to live in? What type of home are you interested in? What about the pricing? Asking yourself these questions will go a long way into refining your home search. With clear answers to what you want, you can now target the housing market that best suits your needs and know how to recognize a well-priced property that fits your lifestyle.

They say that an educated buyer is far better to work with than one who’s not. While you may hire a real estate agent to help you in the home search process, of course, you won’t expect him or her to make all the critical decisions for you. Knowing what you want, will help the agent point you in the right direction as you search for your dream home.  

 

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Spend some time on real estate websites to educate yourself on the local home market, how fast homes are selling and how much they are selling for. You’ll want to focus mostly on property listings that are comparable to the type of houses you’re interested in.

Work With an Experienced Buyer’s Agent

In hot housing markets like Louisville, about 80% of all real estate business is done by real estate agents. Working with an experienced real estate agent who knows the local housing market well and has relationships with other agents is highly recommended. When faced with competitors in a hot housing market, the best resource you can have is a good agent.

You want to be represented by a dedicated buyer's agent who is looking out for your interests, so make sure you choose the right agent, according to a Zillow Home Buyers Guide. With a buyer’s agent, you’re more likely to find the right property. Your agent will help you understand the current housing market and how to make the right offer.

View That House ASAP

The best way to be one step ahead of your competitors is to literally get your foot in the door. If you have seen a house you’re interested in, you need to be there to see it as earliest as you can, mostly within 24-48 hours of the time it hits the market. Wait any longer, and you’re most likely not going to see the home at all.

It’s common for sellers to stop any future showings once they get an acceptable offer. Most people who make that good offer are usually among the first to view it because they were waiting and ready to buy. So, if you want to beat the competition in a hot housing market, you need to be available almost immediately to view the new properties.

Make Your Initial Offer Appealing

When you’re dealing with competing interests for a single property, your initial offer has to be really impressive. To make your offer more appealing to the seller, consider taking these simple steps:

 

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• Be ready to come in with your highest and best offer, at least at market value.

• Use cash or a conventional loan. Most sellers are interested in cash offers.

• Don’t ask for seller concessions. They’ll likely reject your offer.

• Let the seller know you’re willing to be flexible with your offer.

• Use a smart escalation clause if you can to push you ahead of competitors.

Keep in mind that these tips may not apply to all homes. Somes homes may not be as competitive even in a hot housing market, so educate yourself on how to know when there’s competition and when there isn’t. That alone can make all the difference in how you approach a home sale.  

Conclusion

You’ve done your part and even consulted the best agent you could get to help you find and buy your dream home. Finalize your home buying agreement and be ready to move in. If you don’t have any plans to move in immediately, you could consider renting out your new home using Airbnb or any other home rental site.

According to Sublet Alert, a company that provides sublet monitoring solutions, the last thing you want to deal with is a tenant illegally subletting your property. Having a solution that helps prevents this can save you a lot of stress.