Mortgage Expert offers tips to buyers navigating Valley's hot housing market

Cheney Enterprise's Real Estate Advice

"I don't show homes to anybody who's not pre-qualified," he said. "That's the number-one thing you have to do. You do not want to be viewing homes, get excited on a home, then not be able to qualify." Loan officer Paul Salazar at Sierra Pacific Mortgage says he has clients who pre-qualified seven months ago but still haven't been able to close on a home because they refuse to over-bid on properties. Buyers often need a little bit more than what the seller is asking because other people are putting in higher bids. "But I have found that because this market is a little hot right now, that people say, 'Can I qualify for a little bit more?' In some cases yes, which means I'll tell you that you need to pay off some debt in order to qualify," Salazar said. Salazar adds first-time buyers need a credit score of at least 620 to get an FHA loan. Realtor Caitlin Sawatsky says some buyers have been making offers on several homes at the same time. "We heard that people who were offering on our listings also had offers out on other properties because it's just hard to get something accepted, and you don't want to lose out on something that's great for something that was perfect," she said. Experts say buyer interest remains high because of low interest rates. Right now, we have 524 active listings in the Fresno/Clovis area. The number is slowly rising. More than 1,100 homes are in escrow.

"This time around, the house we just bought was on the market for three days. It had eight offers all over listing price, so it's very competitive," said Kimberly Duke, a local buyer. The Duke family is from Fresno. They say it's a much different experience buying a home in 2021 than they did years ago. They actually made a decision to jump right into their next home because of the market. They plan to sell down later after moving. "It can be a lot. That's why we decided to purchase our home first and sell afterward. There's a lot of people out there buying houses, and it can be very competitive," said Andrew Duke. Action News spoke with realtor Don Scordino. He's worked in the market for four decades and says this is unlike anything he's ever seen. "It's a buyer's market and a seller's market. Somebody might say, why is it a buyer's market when there's so much competition? It's because once you land into a home, you've got that really low 30-year fixed interest rate," Scordino said. He says most houses are going within the first three to four days of listing and receiving multiple offers. If priced and presented well, they're going over listing price, creating issues for appraisals. Scordino says cash means a lot right now. So, where are buyers coming from? "This is going to surprise people. Most everyone thinks they're all coming from the Bay Area. Most of the buyers are from the local area, and they're making move-ups. It's a move-up market right now," Scordino said. Inventory is low and creating competition. In Fresno County, there are 1,500 listings, and 1,100 are in escrow. The median price of a home in Fresno County is $310,000. Scordino says the pandemic has made many appreciate the value of a home and space. With low-interest rates creating affordability, they don't see this market-changing anytime soon. Link to Original Article: https://abc30.com/fresno-county-housing-market-houses-for-sale-is-it-a-buyers-interest-rates/10364645/

A home like this comes on the market once in a decade. It’s spacious, fully renovated and designed to the highest standards.