North Park and metro San Diego are still competitive for the best homes, so writing a smart, clean offer really matters. If you are a current homeowner, you may also be thinking ahead to selling your own place in this market.
- Thinking of selling soon in North Park or nearby? Start with our in‑depth
- North Park home‑selling guide
- Want a broader overview of any central San Diego neighborhood? Read the
- step‑by‑step guide to selling your house in San Diego
- Still in the buying phase? Explore
- current homes just listed in San Diego
The San Diego Real Estate Market is highly competitive at present. Although the housing market has cooled in many parts of the county, the metro communities such as North Park, South Park, and others nearby are somewhat different. We are in a balanced market, although we are still leaning toward a seller’s Market in these neighborhoods, not a buyer’s market.
A typical Seller’s Market is when there is less than six months’ inventory. A Buyer’s market occurs when more than 7 months’ worth of inventory is available for sale. There is currently 1.5 worth of inventory in the San Diego Metro area, including North Park, and several surrounding neighborhoods. This means the inventory is very low, and many buyers are competing for the same home. Writing an offer to buy a home is crucial. Homes that are priced well are still receiving multiple offers, and only the best offers will be considered.
What do I mean by best offers? The purchase price must be competitive, but sellers are also considering other factors when reviewing offers.
Here are 6 tips on how to Write An Offer to buy a House in a seller’s market
Tip #1: Must have pre-approval. Before going out to search for homes with your Realtor, you should have already spoken with a few mortgage lenders/brokers and selected the one you feel most comfortable with. Your Realtor should have a few great lenders that they will be able to recommend if you don’t already have one. They will let you know exactly what documentation they will need to be able to give you a loan approval right away. This is different than a pre-qualification. Having a pre-approval will let the Seller know that you have already submitted your application and documents to the lender/bank, and the Lender will approve your loan for the home. This tip alone will put you ahead of the pack. Pre-qualification only means that the buyer spoke with a lender and gave verbal information regarding their income.
Your bank statement should be included in your offer, showing the Seller where your down payment is coming from. This is what we call “Proof of Funds.”
Tip#2: Find Out What Is Important to the Seller?
I have never met a seller who does not want the highest dollar amount for their home. However, there may also be other things that are important to them. Your Real Estate Agent should ask the Listing Agent about the following. Does the Seller need a longer or shorter close of escrow? Do they need a rent-back from the buyer? What this means is, do the sellers need to close on the current home and then rent the house back from the buyers for 2-3 weeks? If so, typically, the Seller pays the buyer for that time frame. You may offer to pay for this. This will be of interest if they require additional time.
Tip#3: Termite Clearance is not always a must
In a regular market with less competition, the buyer will typically ask the Seller to provide them with Termite Clearance. When competing with other offers, this may be something that you do not ask the Seller to pay for. It will make your offer look much better than many of the other offers.
Tip#4: Include a higher earnest deposit
The earnest deposit is also known as a good-faith deposit. We typically see offers where buyers will offer anywhere from 1%-3% of the purchase price. If your offer is accepted, you will deposit that amount into the Escrow Company, which is being used for the transaction of the sale of the home. They are a 3rd party company that holds all deposits and finalizes the transfer of funds from the bank. If, for whatever reason, you were to cancel within your contingency time period, the escrow company would return your deposit. With this being said, if you have completed your inspections and removed all contingencies, including the loan contingencies, you would risk losing a large portion of those funds if you then decide to cancel.
Tip#5: Submit shorter contingency periods–
Typically, the buyer has 21 days to do their home inspection and get full loan approval. This is something that a good Realtor and Mortgage Lender can shorten significantly. Home Inspection contingencies can be reduced to 10 days. This will depend on the loan and the Lender. We work with lenders that can have a fully approved loan in 12-17 days. By working with an experienced Realtor and Lender, you would be able to cut these contingencies down, making your offer appear much stronger than the others.
Tip#:6-Your Realtor should have your Lender reach out to the Listing Agent
As top real estate agents in San Diego, our team can attest that when we receive these calls from a buyer’s lender, it tells us the buyer’s agent and lender are working closely together. We can ask the lender questions about the type of loan the buyers are applying for and their eligibility. Communication is key.
Recently, we listed a home for sale in North Park. Together with the seller, we set a price that would make the home highly desirable and attract competitive offers, resulting in multiple offers. We received several offers, and the strongest came from buyers working with professional real estate agents who submitted a complete offer package with all required documents, followed the showing instructions in the MLS, called us after submitting the offer, and had their lender contact us as well. At the same time, other offers trickled in piecemeal: the agent’s name on the purchase agreement didn’t match the person submitting the offer, there was no explanation in the email, and they failed to include proof of funds or a pre‑approval for their buyers. Do you think our sellers seriously considered those buyers?
It’s extremely important to work with a professional, local Realtor so you don’t waste time and money when buying or selling a home. If you’re a homeowner thinking about selling in North Park or the surrounding metro neighborhoods, start with our North Park home‑selling guide and broader San Diego home‑selling guide.
If you would like to speak with an experienced and dedicated real estate agent at the McT Real Estate Group, please email, text, or give us a call. We would love to help you with the sale of your home in the Metro area and or the process of buying one. We’ll negotiate the best possible terms in today’s market.
Buying a house in San Diego