We’ve all heard it, “buy low and sell high”. Sure, that’s the goal, but isn’t it impossible to both at the same time? Isn’t it EITHER a buyer’s market OR a seller's market, but never both at the same time? In 20 years of investing in and selling real estate, I believe that now more than ever, you CAN buy low and sell high! With an average sales price of $465,000 or $262 per foot, Chico homes prices are at a historic high. Meanwhile, interest rates are at 2.89%, a historic low! If ever there was a time to “step-up”, this is! You can “cash-out” the equity in your home and step up to your dream home .. sure the purchase price might seem crazy high, but consider this. . If you were to borrow $450K at today’s rate, 2.89%, your monthly mortgage payment would be $1,871. If you are waiting for the prices to fall and rates were to rise to a very modest 5.0%, in order to have a mortgage of $1871, you could only borrow about $350K. Prices would have to fall DRAMATICALLY to make waiting make sense.
I can’t think of a better time to sell your Chico home. There were an average of 150 active listings in September, compared to 299 listings in September 2019, meanwhile 282 homes closed escrow last month, compared to 250 homes in September 2019. It should come as no surprise, that the average number of Days on Market for homes has dropped to 5 days! WOW!
Home prices have continued to rise throughout 2020, despite the economic downturn due to COVID. The average home price in September 2020 was 18% higher than the average home price in September of 2019, while the median home price was approximately14% higher. Most of that price jump occurred from January - July, with the rate of growth slowing in August and September. This could (again, no crystal ball here unfortunately!) indicate that prices have peaked or are at least leveling out.
The market is without a doubt competitive, but it is possible to get contingent offers accepted (contingent means that another property has to be sold first), and there are strategies to set your offer apart from the competition in a multiple offer situation. We will address that in our next blog and newsletter!
The Moving Chico Team would LOVE to discuss your Real Goals, or simply chat about the market! Feel free to reach out one of us!
