Umbrella Fights (Yes, Literally) Escalate as Real Estate Markets Heat Up

Wow, the market is really hot right now. Sure, we know you are thinking that this is the sort of thing every real estate professional says because, as we all know, there is “no bad time to sell your home” for real estate agents. But you should never, ever confuse a seasoned real estate investor with an agent. While both may have lots of experience, the investor will admit there are definitely some times that are better to sell than others.

And, OK, this might be one of those times.

While there will always be extremely successful and wealthy investors who chant the mantra “Never sell! Hold forever!” most of us believe in a more moderate approach that relies on judicious buying and selling throughout most market cycles. And, at this point, we really want to sell, so we’re buying as fast as we can!

“Wait a second,” you are probably thinking. “You’re buying just so you can sell? And what about those umbrella fights? I want to know what’s going on with that!”

Well, keep reading, and you can have your explanation and your umbrella battle both…

So, here’s the deal on why now is a great time to sell. It’s simple: there is incredible demand for single-family housing. Incredible, skyrocketing, desperate demand. This demand becomes nearly unreal when you look at areas of the country like the Southeast and, in particular, coastal cities like Savannah, Georgia, which have historically been extremely affordable relative to the rest of the country and now are posting some of the hottest home prices in the country and the fastest time-on-market numbers as well.

If you can buy at a good price in a market like that, force appreciate via updating the property in some way or, if you plan to rent the house, possibly improving management practices, then you will likely be able to sell for top dollar. In Savannah, for example, Strategic is currently looking at inventory that is already selling at about 40 percent more than it sold for just a year ago and, thanks to our established contacts and networks in the area, we are able to buy those homes and then, even more importantly, get work done on them so that we can get them back on the market. In a selling environment where houses are only staying on the market for about a week in a lot of cases, that is a huge opportunity, so we are definitely buying so we can sell.

Oh, and the umbrella fights? Well, that is a southern thing, too, although a different part of the south (for now). Apparently in Austin, Texas, where the time-on-market times are just a few days, one broker had to break up an umbrella fight between two women waiting outside on at an open house just to get in to make an offer. It hasn’t happened in Savannah yet, but that’s probably because SPI is ready to offer both those buyers a home for sale.