The Market Is Back: How to Cope

Prices are up, inventory is down. The crazy market we’re currently experiencing — where  listings are gone before the open house and all-cash over ask takes the prize — started in Brooklyn but has now spread to Manhattan. One couple in Prospect Heights, reported The New York Times, received 30 offers for their two-bedroom, two-bath co-op in Prospect Heights; the winning bid was more than 20 percent over ask, with a 50 percent down payment and money in the bank to spare. Over the weekend, the Times took a look at what it takes to succeed under such conditions. The paper had some excellent, non-obvious advice, such as: Make a full price offer but tell the seller the offer expires in 24 hours. That way the seller doesn’t have time to use your offer to fish around for a higher one. Also, as should be obvious, the reason cash offers are so important is because the market is rising so quickly there are no comps, so buyers need to be able to cover the shortfall between the appraised price and the selling price. That doesn’t mean, however, that buyers should forgo the mortgage contingency — unless they can afford to lose their down payment, the Times warns. How are you faring in this market? Have you tried any of the tactics the Times recommends?
In a Seller’s Market, Every Minute Counts [NY Times]