Alexa and Jeff Schmitz knew the real estate market was moving fast. However, they didn't realize just how fast until they decided to sell their three-bedroom Milwaukee house to buy a "forever home."
Their house was open for showings for a single weekend. The house was shown more than 50 times over three days. By Monday, the Schmitzes had 24 offers. "It blows my mind," Jeff Schmitz said.
Wisconsin's housing market is hot with prices increasing around 10% over the last year. The number of days a property is on the market has dropped. The number of offers a buyer makes before getting a home has increased. What the Schmitzes experienced isn't unusual and it has led to a scramble on the part of buyers, sellers and agents.
Schmitz paid roughly $115,000 for the ranch-style home with a fenced-in yard and detached garage on the western edge of Milwaukee in 2012. He didn't put a lot of money into the house. He upgraded the fence, replaced the water heater and air conditioning.
He thought maybe the property would sell for $150,000 — it's a seller's market, after all. They listed the home at the end of February for $169,900 with guidance from their Realtor.
As the offers rolled in, would-be buyers tried to stand out. Some offered to speed the sale by waiving a home inspection or appraisal, another said they would cover up to $5,000 if the inspection showed a need for repairs. One offer was over $200,000.
"I was a little in shock," Jeff Schmitz said.
The house sold for about $20,000 over asking with no home inspection and no appraisal contingency.
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