Low Housing Inventory and High Interest Rates – If Your a Buyer, What Does this all Mean?
Housing inventory remains very low in the Bay Area. Even though interest rates remain high due to inflationary fears from the Fed’s, the higher cost of financing isn’t slowing the market down.
In Santa Clara County, there are approximately 930 properties for sale (consisting of homes, town house and condos (as of July 2023)) with a median days on the market of 10 days.
In Santa Cruz County, there are approximately 305 properties for sale with a median days on the market of 22 days per Charles Holcomb with Compass Real Estate with the Dawn Thomas Team. Its still very much a seller’s market with sellers demanding and getting prices well over list prices.
Last year I sold my home in Saratoga to downsize, thinking prices would go lower due to higher rates allowing to scoop up a great deal…Was I wrong! In searching for property, I have seen multiple offers and listings going well above the list price. In fact, I have seen accepted offers well above what comps support. It feels a little like 2018 again. Jen Beehler with the Elevate Group states as inventory remains lows, expect more of this. She then went on to explain that when making an offer where financing is involved, its very important to be fully preapproved with the ability to close quickly.
At 101 Loan, we take pride in that, our preapprovals are fully underwritten (with DU run) allowing our buyers the ability to make offers without a loan contingency and close in a timely manner, sometimes in 3 weeks or less. This helps our buyers make the strongest offer possible often times resulting in accepted offer.
For more on what we do for our buyers, please see below:
- We get the buyer completely pre-approved before they make an offer, so they won’t need a loan contingency (unless we recommend having one), something seller’s require.
- We strategize with the buyer and Realtor, to close in the quickest amount of time with the least amount of contingencies while keeping the buyers risk as low as possible.
- At the time of an offer, we call the listing agent on behalf of the buyer and their Realtor to differentiate the offer over someone else’s. (This makes a huge difference in the eyes of the listing agent and seller and conveys strength in the preapproval)
- We can close purchases in 21 to 25 days (as needed) depending on the loan program the buyer chooses. Faster is better in the eyes of the seller!
- We provide a timeline to the buyer, the listing agent and the buyers agent, once the loan is locked; detailing each step of the transaction to ensure a smooth closing. We ensure the buyer knows exactly what the loan will cost once locked and then update them immediately if there are any changes to the loan structure, as a result due to a change of circumstance. We then re-summarize the costs before the buyer signs the loan docs.
- We coordinate the buyer’s signoff with escrow and their Realtor, to ensure the purchase closes on time, as scheduled.
We basically “micro-manage” the purchase from start to finish to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible, something crucial in this market, to ensure all parties have a smooth and stress-free closing.
If you’d like to get preapproved or determine your purchase power, please contact us.
Best Regards,
Rob McCarthy
Senior Mortgage Advisor
650-465-8957 c 408-377-4123 o 408-608-1921 f
CA DRE – License # 01205444 NMLS #326829
6090 Hellyer Ave #100, San Jose, CA 95138
Products/Services/Accolades:
- Residential Financing for Purchases and Refinances on 1 to 4 unit properties.
- Reverse Mortgage Financing to include Conforming, Jumbo, HELOC Jumbo’s.
- Commercial & SBA Financing to include Multifamily, Office, Retail and Light Industrial.
- Access to over 50 banks with over 300 “Five Star” Reviews on Yelp, Google, Facebook and Linkedin.
Note: Interest rates and loan programs quoted are subject to change without notice or until locked and approved by lender.
