How Market Research Helped My Buyer Win a Multiple-Offer Situation

Home buyers have more tools than ever to help navigate the home-buying process.

The most obvious example is all the sites where buyers can find homes for sale, bookmark their favorites, and even fall in love before ever seeing a home in person.

A less obvious example: All the great market data that’s at your fingertips to help you understand what it will take to buy a home that you love.

A Buyer Win That Came From Market Research

A couple of years ago, a client of mine knew she wanted to buy a home, but it wouldn’t happen right away. She had to wait until her ex-husband began the refinancing proceedings on the home they had shared.

So, how did she pass the time?

She spent about three months actively researching the market!

I set her up on our MLS’ auto-notification feature so she’d get email alerts when homes that matched her wishlist hit the market. When something in her price range came up that she liked, she would note the list price, how soon it went under contract, and the final sales price.

When the time came for her to buy her own home, my client was ready!

Thanks to all that research and tracking home sales in her price range, she knew what to offer when she found a home she loved. She saw a beautiful Richland gem and, of course, found herself in a multiple-offer situation.

Since she’d been doing her homework for months, we wrote a strong offer and didn’t waste time trying to “get a deal” or negotiate down. When the seller made a counteroffer asking for more money, my client accepted it because she knew the house would likely sell at that higher price to someone else if she had said no.

She told us later that her research period was helpful because it helped set her expectations properly!

Moral of the story: If you’re looking to buy a home but you’re not in a hurry, spend some time researching. Understanding how the market behaves within your price range can help you get the home you want when it’s your turn to buy.