Friday, August 25, 2006

Fresno Is A Buyers Market!

Yes it is a "buyers market" in Fresno. The amazing thing I'm seeing, is how many sellers are still overpriced and holding on to values from the past. There are nearly 4000 homes and condos for sale in Fresno and Clovis right now. That's an 8 month supply of homes. There are however, many sellers who are truly motivated and the smart ones are making adjustments to their pricing, or offering incentives, such as "buying down the interest rate" for the buyers, or contributing money towards their closing costs. There is huge competition in selling right now, especially in certain zip code areas. I see many listings under $300,000 now in the popular 93720 zip code, which last year was hard to find anything under $300K. My advice to sellers is to compare what's on the market today as your competition and price below that, as opposed to looking at sales comps. Sales comps have to be within the last 3 months to be accurate with the current downward price correction in progress. How long it will last is anyone's guess. Buyers, on the other hand are being cautious and making offers lower than asking price, and rightfully so. They don't want to be caught "upside down" in equity soon after they purchase. My advice to buyers is to either negotiate on price or seller contributions to closing cost as best as they can and buy for the long term investment. Prices may drop furthur, but it will eventually stablize and increase in time. If your a buyer, don't wait for prices to drop, their are many good buys to found today in Fresno from the sellers that MUST SELL, due to job transfers, relocation, divorce, foreclosure, death etc.

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