Each January, would-be home owners roll up their sleeves and make plans to buy a house, townhouse or condo. This year, like most, I’m getting contacted by Silicon Valley home buyers new to me as well as those who played with the idea in the past but ended up putting off the purchase. (Recently I learned that nationally, only about 50% of interested home buyers actually do purchase during the year that they think they will.)
Right now it is a very deep seller’s market in Santa Clara County as well as nearby areas of Silicon Valley. There is more demand than supply, the majority of “regular sale” properties under $ 1 million or so are getting multiple offers and the sales prices are averaging over the list price in almost all neighborhoods. The months supply of inventory is less than one month in Santa Clara County right now.
There are a lot of strategies you can employ when competing in multiple offer situations, but very few things can trump cash. A 20% down payment is considered a minimum for most of the valley. It is extremely difficult for a home buyer with FHA backed financing to buy a home in most cases.
This morning I looked at the sales of houses in San Jose over the last 30 days (meaning those which closed escrow). There were 368 houses that sold & closed. Of those 268 had conventional loans, 77 were all cash, 10 were FHA, 6 were conventional 1st and 2nd, 1 was a VA loan and none were “owner carry”. In other words, the vast majority had 20% down or more, and only a tiny handful came to the table with a small down payment.
That doesn’t mean that FHA buyers are never successful or that they aren’t trying. But the odds of success are about 3%.
Looking for another option? There are conventional 1st and second loans available – of course not many of those either but they are usually viewed more favorably than an FHA offer, especially if the house is older or needs work.
Another strategy may be to cosign with a relative who puts up a 2nd mortgage for you.
Nothing can really beat cash, and for most buyers, that means saving for years to pull together that elusive 20%. Up against an all cash bid, even 20% will look weak, but to increase your odds of success, 20% should be your minimum target in today’s market.
