If I didn't know better and I didn't have a calendar in front of me telling me it is clearly 2010 and NOT 2005, I would think we were back in the crazy days of Bend, OR, homes for sale when we had offers and multiple offers almost as soon as we listed a property, be it a residential sale, condo or a Central Oregon ranch or farm. All price ranges, all types of sales.
This week I submitted offers for two clients on homes, and both ended up in multiple offer situations. On one, which was a bank owned home under $200,000, there were a total of SIX offers submitted to the listing agent. My client improved his full-price offer by about 20 percent (!!!!!) and still did not get the home. It was beautiful and underpriced, but not that much!
As I have said before and continue to say: Low prices and rock bottom interest rates make this the buying opportunity of a lifetime. I see banks getting smarter and more efficient, and when short sales and foreclosures are a smaller part of our market, which will certainly happen by 2012 but maybe 2011, these opportunities will be gone. Forever.