Many potential buyers that have recently entered the market, thinking about purchasing a home or investment property, are still hoping to get the ultra-low price they hear someone else got (probably a few years back). Sometimes a buyer says they are only interested when I hear about a short sale or foreclosure that is priced well below “comps.” Today’s market reality generally is that if a listing comes to market, priced significantly low for its condition and location, there will be multiple offers pushing that price up. Why? One short variable is that 4 to 6 years ago, a majority of houses on the market were distressed sales – bank owned, HUD, or short sales. Now – the number of distressed listings compared to traditional sales is miniscule. Witness this chart published by The Cromford Report yesterday:

Cromford Report 5/1/2014