March 27, 2009 2:00 am

Multiple Offers In A Buyer's Market Multiple Times

I've run into multiple offer scenarios five times over the last six weeks. That's mind-boggling considering the state of the Portland real estate market, the fact we're in a heavily weighed buyer's market, and experiencing near record high housing inventory.

So what gives?

The multiple offer situations occurred with different buyers in different neighborhoods and in different price ranges. Some homes were short sales or bank-owned, but some were good ole' fashioned regular sales.

In thinking about it, all these houses did have one thing in common: they were the absolute best homes in terms of value that the buyers saw. Out of all the homes the buyers saw online (many) and in person, these homes stood out head and shoulders above the tons of other homes. I discussed this one with buyer and she agreed. There are so many homes a buyer can see and they tend to blend into each other. So when a home has it all, especially being priced well, that home truly rises above all others. It becomes special and it attracts.

Note that having it all doesn't mean the home has to be spectacular, completely upgraded, or remodeled. It just means the buyer has seen enough homes in person to recognize the best deal compared to similar properties.

By the way, some of the properties that had multiple offers were priced great from day one and sold in a very short amount of time. The other properties actually sat on the market a long time and only after significant price reductions did the multiple offer scenarios result. Pricing reigns in this market.