It remains a strong seller’s real estate market in Silicon Valley, with many properties selling with multiple offers, but there’s an undercurrent of concern that we are the near the peak of pricing. That has some buyers nervous (though most will quip that Apple and Google and others are still hiring, and the local economy is strong – so they are not too worried). For those who are a little nervous, sometimes it turns into cold feet – and it’s costing them.
What we are seeing in terms of cold feet with Silicon Valley home buying:
This undercurrent is not being widely reported but we are experiencing it in our real estate practices as a few things have been taking place.
First, a larger than usual number of transactions have been falling through. Many of these, though, are not recorded on the multiple listing service, as they take place right after an offer is accepted, so the listing agent and sellers turn to one of the other bidders and put them into contract within hours. Because they aren’t recorded, it’s impossible to track – but the stories are out there of this happening more now than a year or two ago.
In other cases, offers are written and submitted but withdrawn before they could be countered or accepted.
And in others, buyer agents say that they will be submitting an offer, but on the day of offer presentation, the home buyers back out and the offer is never submitted.
In my experience, all of these things are happening “more than normal” right now. A lot of it is not easily measurable.
Symptoms of cold feet to come
Home sellers want to feel confident when they accept a contract that it will stick, both because they don’t want the work or emotional upheaval associated with a transaction that falls through, but also because often the best price is the first price. When a home ‘resells’, most of the time it is for less than the origanlly accepted bid.
For that reason, smart listing agents are looking for the symptoms of cold feet. They’d rather not get their sellers into contract with nervous buyers who will change their mind about buying the house or condo.
Symptoms of nervousness about the property at an open house:
- Dominating the listing agent’s time with incessant and low-level questions – best to give most of your questions to your own buyer’s agent, who will help you with them. It’s good to ask about the home, the reports and so on, but you don’t want to take so much of the Realtor’s time that he or she cannot talk with others there. Think balance both in terms of the time and the nature of the questions. You want to present yourself as reasonable and easy to work with.
- We often say that the longer a buyer stays, the more likely he or she is to write an offer. This is true, up to a point. Buyers who come to an open house and stay for 2 hours, or who make 4 or 5 trips to see the house go from looking interested to appearing unsure.
Symptoms of nervousness about the property (your potentially cold feet) when your offer is submitted:
- Sending in an incomplete offer and supporting documents. If the listing agent requires proof of funds, provide it. If the disclosures are to be signed, do all of them – not just the cover sheet. Aim to be thorough, it will present you as serious. It will also show that you are not a pain to work with, that you and your Realtor can follow directions and that the listing agent won’t have to chase down the paperwork later. Go the extra mile, it helps!
- Submitting an offer package “last minute”, without the buyer’s agent giving advance notice that it’s coming. Related to this is seeing the property and reviewing everything well in advance, but only deciding a few hours before the deadline to actually write, sign, and submit the bid. The serious buyers who are rock solid are the ones who know early on that they want the property and are committed to it early on. Their buyer’s agent will let the listing agent know long before offers are due that these home buyers are going to bid on it. One agent recently told me “my buyers are madly in love with the house” many days before the offer due date. This makes a big impression on sellers and their agents.
- If the buyer’s agent needs to call every few days to see how things are looking, it usually hints that the buyers are not too sure or that they will only write an offer if there’s limited competition. The truly sure buyers plunge ahead despite competing bids or the lack of them.
Want to buy a home? Try not to come across as skiddish to the listing agent! Your cold feet may cost you the home, even if your offer’s got the highest price. Home sellers and their agents want to feel confident that you will close on the sale if your offer is accepted. Present yourself as serious, capable, reliable, and easy to work with and your odds of success will be increased. At the end of the day, it is always “price and terms”, but never underestimate the influence that your behavior and your real estate agent’s behavior play into the overall package, because shaky buyers may not close the sale, but home buyers who are rock solid and madly in love with the house will.
Lastly, in an appreciating market, as we have right now, it should be noted that often the next house or townhouse or condo will be more costly or in worse shape than the one you could not decide to get serious about. Stay nervous too long, and you could ultimately really impact how much home you can buy at all. Worse yet, take too long and you may price yourself out of the market entirely.
