Can Buyers Name Their Price?
It's no secret, this is a Buyer's Market. What does that mean exactly? Some buyers believe it means that when they are ready to write an offer, they don't need to consider market value, they are thinking, 'lets go really LOW!'. What happens then, do the sellers usually grab the offer just to get the deal done?
That is not what we are seeing. The huge benefit to the buyers is that in this market, they have lots of homes to pick from and the prices are lower than before, providing some great deals. Back in the days of the Seller's Market, a buyer might begin with 4 or 5 homes that matched their needs and their price range, we'd set up the showings and often found half of them had accepted offers already. They'd tour the ones that were still available and they'd either pick one out, or wait for another home to come up that they could look at. Other buyers were out there doing the same thing, no one wanted to lose the home that they liked to that other buyer. When a home was right, the offer was made,in some cases even over list price if the buyer was worried that someone else might be writing a strong offer at the same time.
Now, in today's market, a buyer might have 20 homes in their range and they can take more time picking out the one that they will offer on. Once they decide on the home, they must then determine how much they are going to offer the seller. Realtors keep hearing, "We know this is a buyers market and the sellers have to go low." The truth is that because it is a tough market, sellers have already gone "low". Instead of pricing their homes with room to spare, to try and get top dollar, they are pricing as close to ground zero as they can to be competitive and to draw in an offer. They have less room to come down than ever before and there are seldom the huge drops from the list price that buyers are anticipating.
The lesson here is to allow your Buyer's Agent to do some homework for you when it's time to put together an offer that will be taken seriously. Find the home you love, then have your Realtor run the numbers for you. What have similar homes been selling for recently? What is the real list to sales price ratio? When you see the market facts, be realistic and don't expect the seller to be giving the home away. You will certainly be getting all of the benefits of the buyer's market, the wonderful selection, the lower prices and your timing for buying a home could not be better. Don't be disappointed when the sellers counter your "really low" offer with a reasonable price. Or better still, start off with a reasonable offer, many sellers are more likely to accept an offer directly if it is close to their bottomline and as a buyer you get the home for less than the seller would have asked for if they were to counter a lower offer with that original bottomline number. Helping you negotiate to that best price is what your Buyer's Agent will work with you on. Providing real knowledge on the real market, to put you in the right home, at the best price.
That is not what we are seeing. The huge benefit to the buyers is that in this market, they have lots of homes to pick from and the prices are lower than before, providing some great deals. Back in the days of the Seller's Market, a buyer might begin with 4 or 5 homes that matched their needs and their price range, we'd set up the showings and often found half of them had accepted offers already. They'd tour the ones that were still available and they'd either pick one out, or wait for another home to come up that they could look at. Other buyers were out there doing the same thing, no one wanted to lose the home that they liked to that other buyer. When a home was right, the offer was made,in some cases even over list price if the buyer was worried that someone else might be writing a strong offer at the same time.
Now, in today's market, a buyer might have 20 homes in their range and they can take more time picking out the one that they will offer on. Once they decide on the home, they must then determine how much they are going to offer the seller. Realtors keep hearing, "We know this is a buyers market and the sellers have to go low." The truth is that because it is a tough market, sellers have already gone "low". Instead of pricing their homes with room to spare, to try and get top dollar, they are pricing as close to ground zero as they can to be competitive and to draw in an offer. They have less room to come down than ever before and there are seldom the huge drops from the list price that buyers are anticipating.
The lesson here is to allow your Buyer's Agent to do some homework for you when it's time to put together an offer that will be taken seriously. Find the home you love, then have your Realtor run the numbers for you. What have similar homes been selling for recently? What is the real list to sales price ratio? When you see the market facts, be realistic and don't expect the seller to be giving the home away. You will certainly be getting all of the benefits of the buyer's market, the wonderful selection, the lower prices and your timing for buying a home could not be better. Don't be disappointed when the sellers counter your "really low" offer with a reasonable price. Or better still, start off with a reasonable offer, many sellers are more likely to accept an offer directly if it is close to their bottomline and as a buyer you get the home for less than the seller would have asked for if they were to counter a lower offer with that original bottomline number. Helping you negotiate to that best price is what your Buyer's Agent will work with you on. Providing real knowledge on the real market, to put you in the right home, at the best price.
posted by Beth Anderson @ 2:12 PM
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