Sale prices vs list prices - or how much to negotiate in atlanta? (Dudley: for sale)

[alek-ny]

Where I am going to be moving from, sellers aren't dropping their list prices, but buyers who start an offer with a 20% cut aren't being ignored. Is the situation similar at the moment in atlanta?

Obviously it varies depending on the seller's circumstances -- are they paying two mortgages?, are they in a hurry to sell?, etc. But there are always some rough ideas.

I'm working on interviewing buyer's agents at the moment, but I'm always hesitant to fully trust what they say -- before they are your agent they tend to tell you how much they can get off of the list price, and after they are your agent they encourage you to not lowball too much so that the sale can go through quicker.

For us, getting a good deal is important because we're leaving an area with a poor market, and want to be able to afford something reasonably OK in a good area.

So what do those here think about the Atlanta market? Can you start an offer at 20% off and end up buying at 10% or more off? Or will I not even receive a counteroffer at 10% off?

[BobKovacs]

The market in Atlanta is still pretty decent, so people aren't having to give their homes away like some other areas of the country. That said, there's no hard and fast rule for how much you're going to be able to get off (if anything)- some people are listing high so they've got some wiggle room, and some are being realistic from the start.

[blackrabbit]

Originally Posted by alek-ny

Where I am going to be moving from, sellers aren't dropping their list prices, but buyers who start an offer with a 20% cut aren't being ignored. Is the situation similar at the moment in atlanta?

Obviously it varies depending on the seller's circumstances -- are they paying two mortgages?, are they in a hurry to sell?, etc. But there are always some rough ideas.

I'm working on interviewing buyer's agents at the moment, but I'm always hesitant to fully trust what they say -- before they are your agent they tend to tell you how much they can get off of the list price, and after they are your agent they encourage you to not lowball too much so that the sale can go through quicker.

For us, getting a good deal is important because we're leaving an area with a poor market, and want to be able to afford something reasonably OK in a good area.

So what do those here think about the Atlanta market? Can you start an offer at 20% off and end up buying at 10% or more off? Or will I not even receive a counteroffer at 10% off?

Depends what area of Atlanta. In some areas (close in ) single family homes are still going up. Also I would look long term at the appreciation potential of the specific area not how much you can beat someone down on a house in an undesirable area. Most foreclosures are in bad areas. Obviously its going to be much easier to get a discount the further out of town you are because of the over building and so many similar houses on the market.

In many decent areas if you offered 20% off the sellers will just stop dealing with you. Many will at 10%.

[lastminutemom]

blackrabbit-- I am curious, what areas do you still think are going up.

By the way, there are a couple of foreclosures on newly built (or not yet finished homes in Brookhaven, which is a very nice area.

[blackrabbit]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

blackrabbit-- I am curious, what areas do you still think are going up.

By the way, there are a couple of foreclosures on newly built (or not yet finished homes in Brookhaven, which is a very nice area.

We live in Brookhaven right now in an older but remodelled home in Brittany and the quotes for extending are so high (insane) we thought about moving. I am sure a few of the new builds on Windsor and Ashford Park may foreclose but decent older homes still seem to be going up and look to be 10-15% more than last year. One house I looked at is back on the market at 900k and it was listed at 650k 18 months ago! Our realtor seems to think we can sell very quick (in the 550k-600k range for a remodelled 4/2.5 on half an acre) but we cannot find a nice looking home in the 750k - 800K range that has good bones about 2500-3000 sq ft and is on a quite street with a decent flat private yard. All there is in the area are the new craftsman style cluster homes or mega expensive new build palaces. Last year when we looked more was available. In the last 2 months we have tried to bid on two very nice ranches in that range and both sold for over asking! One just north of Chastain was sold in 3 days (asking 775k sold for 850k and needs lots of work). It was just off Dudley and there were 3 bidders on it from day 1. I am not saying this is typical everywhere but I think there are still a lot of buyers in the 600k to 800k market with young children looking for North Buckhead/Brookhaven homes with a nice yard and privacy.

[alek-ny]

Thanks for the messages. I was hoping the market was in worse shape in Atlanta, not so that I can "beat someone down," or take advantage of someone, but so that we can get a house we want to live in, in an area we want to live in.

We're leaving an area with a horrible market, and apparently going into one that's not so bad. That can be a difficult situation.

But it sounds (unfortunately for us) like our agent has been being realistic with us about what we can offer. So, thanks for the help.

[lastminutemom]

Alek

I don't think the market is so hot here-- I just think many people have already adjusted their prices to account for the slow down.

What areas are you looking in?

I also think you can ask your realtor to focus on homes that have been on the market over 100 days == this may mean the seller will be more motivated.

[Morriah]

Alek, being a Realtor in Atlanta I thought I should chime in. I think there are some good deals to be had out there but it depends on where you are looking and the price range. The homes in the better schoold districts seem to go more quickly and for top dollar. Do you have kids? If you don't and don't care about the school districts then there are some areas where the sellers are a little more motivated. I don't think that your agent would intentionally steer you wrong for a "quick sale" because they want you to be happy with their service so that you refer them more business. There is no formula to figure out what percentage off the list price you will recieve. As you said, it depends on the seller's circumstances including how long they've been on the market, if they've already moved, if it's a divorce situation..there are a lot of different reasons that would make a seller more motivated. Have your agent do a market analysis of homes that have recently sold that are similar in size, style and age and take into consideration what their circumstances are and make an offer based on that information. It's okay to make a low offer but don't be ridiculous...that will only lead to angering the seller and they will be less inclined to respond or budge off of their price. Of course if your agent tells you that they said they are "accepting all offers", then go for it!

Blackrabbit, I feel your pain. I also have clients looking in that price range in Buckhead and the pickings are slim! We made an offer on a foreclosure and my client has cash and can close immediately and they only came off the price $10k - of coures because it was a foreclosure we did send a lowball offer thinking that the quick sale would be an incentive but I think that the banks are sticking to their prices because they're taking a beating in this market. The good news is that with the Spring market, a lot more houses will be going up for sale in the next month or two and that will lead to more choices for buyers and more motivated sellers with the added competition.

Best of luck to you both!