Vacaville/Dixon area home prices are on the rise

Over the past 8-10 months the real estate market in Solano county and surrounding areas has been showing signs of life.  I wrote a post last October about buyers being subjected to limited inventory and having to make an offer quickly and many times having to offer over the list price to have a chance at getting their offer accepted.  We are seeing more and more of that currently which is causing home prices to go up month over month.

The same is happening accross the nation and in a recent USA today article they posted these statistics:

The National Association of Realtors said sales of previously occupied homes rose 2.3% from June, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.47 million. That was still the second-worst pace of the year and followed a decline in June. A 5.5 million rate is considered healthy.

The median price of homes sold rose 9.4% from a year ago — the sharpest increase since January 2006 — but the gain may be deceptively large. The Realtors association says that higher median prices are due to fewer sales of small, less-expensive homes.

The lower price ranges are definitely experiencing the most competition due to first time owner occupant buyers entering the market with record low interest rates on home loans as well as buyers paying all cash or utilizing large down payments to invest in real estate.  I am currently working with many buyers (both requiring financing or paying cash) looking to buy homes under $250,000.  All of them are experiencing competition when pursuing a home, meaning writing more than one offer to get one accepted as well as having to write over asking to be considered.  A few days ago, my buyer & I stood in line with 5 other agents/buyers to preview a home in North Vacaville priced at $200,000.

Many homes are selling in a few short days, some in hours of hitting the market.  Just to give you an idea of the local market, I pulled the following details today from BAREIS MLS.  I ran a search of homes in Solano County up to $250,000 (SFR/Condo and Farm/Ranch) and this is what I found:

• Available homes: 192
• Homes in escrow (have an accepted offer): 1163
• Homes sold in past 3 months: 1041

If you are thinking now is the time to buy, it really is a great combination of affordable prices and extremely low interest rates.  But, here is a list to help you be better prepared when you start your search:

1. Stay on top of the listings coming up and see them as soon as you can.  I offer a great service where listings come straight to your email.  Click here to request that be started for you.  Or you can do your own search as well. 
2. Assume you will have to look at many homes and write multiple offers before you get an offer accepted.
3. Don't be afraid to write an offer over the list price if you & your agent feel it can be supported by an appraisal.
4. Lastly, if you will not be paying all cash, get pre-approved for a loan before going out to look at homes.  Your offer will not be considered most of the time if you can't provide written loan pre-approval with your offer.

Are you thinking about selling your home?  Due to the competition among buyers, now is a great time to sell as more buyers on the market demand more homes available to purchase.  Short sales (you owe more than your homes current value) are selling just as fast as fair market and REO (real estate owned) homes.  Wondering what your home is worth?  Request a FREE CMA today and let me help you sell your home quickly and for TOP DOLLAR in today's market!

Above excerpt pulled from http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/story/2012-08-22/existing-home-sales-july/57205914/1