It’s unanimous among local Realtors that most San Francisco properties are attracting far fewer offers than they were six months ago.
A quick poll at our recent companywide sales meeting revealed that 83% of agents are seeing fewer offers—though there are some massive exceptions (57 offers, anyone?). Even in situations where there are seemingly multiple buyers interested in a particular property, agents are sometimes receiving only one or two offers. In some cases, no one is stepping forward and listing agents are continuing their marketing campaigns in search of qualified, interested buyers.
What I’m personally seeing, as well, are sellers increasingly being open to considering “preemptive” offers. These are offers that are submitted prior to an official offer date.
What that means for sellers is that it may be a sound idea to consider a strong preemptive offer vs. wait for an offer date—even if there are multiple buyers who have requested disclosures or seem interested.
Buyers should be prepared to write offers within a week of seeing a property, in case an offer date doesn’t stick. You’ll put yourself in the best strategic position if you’re already fully preapproved by a lender and able to put an offer together quickly.