How’s business?  This seems to be a very common question to answer these days.  My business has been surprising!  In the past three weeks, I have had the chance to help two separate clients submit an offer on two homes in the Trivalley.  One was a two bedroom townhome in Pleasanton and the other a newer townhome in Dublin in the Cottages.  What happened with these offers may surprise you.The two bedroom Pleasanton townhome was in good condition with not much work to be done.  It was priced competitive for the market and could fit most first time home-buyers budgets’.  My client was looking to purchase the townhome as an investment property and with a 20% downpayment the rents would nearly cover the carrying costs.  So we visited the home on the first day it hit the market (Monday) and got together Tuesday morning to submit the offer.  After we wrote the offer (very close to asking price), I called the agent to let him know to expect an offer from my client on the Pleasanton townhome.  He informed me that there were a total of five offers on the property and according to the agent, the home will sell for over asking price.  (But wait, I thought it was a buyer’s market!?)

The second scenario is very similar to the first expect that the particular Dublin home had been on the market for nearly three months.  After three months on the market, the Dublin townhome received multiple offers and most of the negotiation power which we had as buyers was lost and the home ended up selling for higher than an identical townhome just went under contract for.

What can you derive from the two above scenarios?  The market is shifting and the buyers are coming out to scoop up these deals.  The diamonds in the rough are getting picked up quickly and slowly the bargaining power can be getting away from the buyers and becoming more even.  Check back soon to see the month’s end stats for April.

Chris Kamali is a TriValley Real Estate Agent, helping clients buy and sell homes in Dublin, Pleasanton, San Ramon and Livermore.