Competition heats up for new homes in the Central Valley

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Buying a home is competitive on all fronts here in the Central Valley.

"A lot of the new construction market is very similar to the resale market, and a lot of the builders are trying to keep up with the demand, and so they're short on inventory," said Kam Wade.

Kam and Darren Wade with Strive Real Estate of Fresno say that the process has changed when it comes to new homes.

"We're also seeing that with some builders, which is not something that I've ever experienced before, is that they are requiring that we, the buyers, submit offers on homes that will be released either are currently released are in the next couple of weeks so similar to the resale market where everyone has to compete," Wade said.

Bonadelle says they currently have about 400 people on a waiting list.

They recommend you know all the costs and are ready to go if you are serious. Bonadelle says they go down their waitlists to select buyers.

"You want to be able to say yes. You don't want to say, well I'm not sure, let me think about it because you don't have time to think about it," said Cindi Hargrave, Bonadelle's new home sales counselor.

In Madera County, homes are also selling at new developments along Highway 41.

Tesoro Viejo has seen the number of home sales double in the last year. They're releasing a new neighborhood called Verano.

"We're about sold out of that first phase, and we're about to launch our second phase right now. It's actually this Saturday. Our interest list is very high," said Ashley De Young-Seibert, vice president of marketing at De Young Properties.

Buyers can come in person or do the process virtually.

Some builders are selling at listing price, and some are selecting the best bids.

Wade says price and terms will often help people land a new home.

Costs are also changing with rising lumber and construction prices.

Wade suggests buyers go with a realtor to help navigate the process and says in some cases, people will bid on both new and existing homes to increase their chances of homeownership.

New homes are selling fast across most Valley cities. In the Fresno County area, experts say they're seeing the most competition in the Sunnyside area and northwest Fresno area of Herndon and 99 areas with homes being sold in the $316,000 to $400,000 plus price range.