What Sauce Would You Like with Your Spaghetti?
I have so many great “Deal Stories” from my arsenal this year, and I just want to share ALL of them with you! Alas, I’ll stick with the latest and greatest, which was one of two that closed last Friday! I met these wonderful clients at an open house in the Outer Sunset earlier this year, just as the market was beginning to shift. They already owned a small condo in the neighborhood and specifically wanted to upsize to a single family home in the Outer Sunset - a neighborhood that has become their community. And then they told me their budget, which was around $350,000 (give or take) less than the average cost of a single family home in the Outer Sunset at the time.
Luckily for them, I had been down this road before with other clients who had very low budgets for their desires. So I told them, “No problem! We’re going to throw spaghetti at the wall until you get your dreamy Outer Sunset Home.” I’m pretty certain at some point we joked about what sauce they would like with their spaghetti. Looking back, we threw spaghetti at the wall five times before they finally got into contract, and it was finished off with some really delectable proverbial tiramisu!
From the time I met these buyers in late June 2022 to their closing this past Friday, interest rates went up twice totaling 150 basis points, the stock market was up and down from day to day, and as interest rates rose, my buyer’s cash holdings became more valuable as property values continued to decline. So, every single time they submitted an offer, they were infused with hope that they were getting closer to finding their forever home in the Outer Sunset. And then they got into contract, and things got sweeter!
The seller did not complete any pre-sale inspections and there were some other complications with title extending the closing date, which allowed my buyers to renegotiate their original contract price of $1,325,000 down to $1,310,000 WITH a $10,000 credit from the seller (SELLERS - Note to self: Don’t cheap out on pre-sale inspections). I think my clients are still pinching themselves. Just 12 months ago, they were totally priced out of this market.
Succeeding in any market means knowing the game you’re in! Sometime, in the not too distant future, the market will shift again, buyers will lose their leverage, and I will be advising all my clients, whether buyer or seller, to play a different game. But for now, I’m asking all my buyer clients what sauce they would like with their spaghetti!
