First Time Home Buyers across the country are asking themselves this very question. The short answer is: Everyone else is thinking just like you! 
As a result, even though there is a glut of inventory (and more to come if estimates are correct), many First Time Home Buyers spends months making offer after offer, only to get outbid.
Bidding wars seen in markets for foreclosed homes
Prices of foreclosed homes have taken such a beating that investors are jumping in and bidding up prices. Investors who win bids are often cash buyers who do not need to go through the appraisal process to get a loan. Traditional buyers who are looking for a home to reside in are at a disadvantage. Jerry Lou Davis, a real-estate agent in California, says the activity in the foreclosed housing market is similar to the housing bubble of yesteryears. Jay Butler, director of the Realty Studies program at Arizona State University, concurs with this view. “This market is about as abnormal as the hypermarket that we came out of a few years ago,” said Butler. Experts say that the bidding wars will impede stabilization of the housing market.
In Phoenix, the median home price, which was $265,000 3 years ago, was $125,000 last month, from a low of $115,000 in April. Real estate agents across the country have been observing price wars in the last couple of months, according to Walter Molony, a spokesman for the National Association of Realtors. In states such as Nevada, Arizona, California, and Florida, where home prices are moving to levels well below their peak values, it is not uncommon for sellers to get multiple offers. Jonathan Abbinante, a real estate agent in Las Vegas, says some of his clients are making 3 offers a day on homes they have not seen. “I sell homes right over the Internet,” said Abbinante. “That’s what I did in 2004.”
If you’re a First Time Home Buyer and want to take advantage of the $8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, the time to act is NOW! I know November seems a long way off but as you can see, the home buying process is much longer now and you have to be closed by November 30, 2009 (This has been extended to June 30, 2010 but you have to be in escrow by April 30).
IT’S TOO IMPORTANT…DO IT RIGHT!
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