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Is offering 20% off list on a $2.3 mil home considered a low offer?Thanks
20% off list sounds a little low to me, no matter what the starting price is. But again, it depends on location, location, location. And the comps. Where is it and what do the comps support?
welcome JanS....ouch, but did you finally sell, at a price you could tolerate?
We did sell. We came down a little and they raised their offer. We met just about in the middle. It was risky with so many homes on the market, but they had seen 40+ homes before choosing ours and it was very clear that they wanted it badly. It seemed better to take the offer than to risk having it on our hands for months.
The market has really tanked since the sale, so I think we made the right choice. No other homes in our county had sold in under three weeks. We set a quick sale record for 2007. The buyers have not changed one thing about the house, which shows how badly they wanted it.
At our house back in MA we were only in it for 2 yrs.. Had it at 339k (reduced it a ton) at the time and had a nice lowball offer in at 250k on it!! even their own realtor said that it was insulting and shouldn't even present it! *my realtor had known the other realtor)...needless to say, we didnt accept it!!
I see too many closed comps where there is a 30-35% difference between the original ask and the closed sale price and these are not foreclosed or short sale properties. ( Interestingly, ask to closed sale ratios use the most recent ask, not the original price). These situations are far more indicitive of delusional sellers and listing agents than a market correction.
I am aware of several situations where the sellers turned down previous offers that were 10-20% less than they were asking, at the time. The rational is almost always, " we are not going to give it away". Fast forward another 360 days on the market and they end up selling 25-30 and even 35% less than where they started and it did not have to be this way.
What the seller perceives his value, wants or needs out of the sale is meaningless to a buyer. That a buyer can only afford or is willing to pay X is meaningless to a seller. If value or the offer cannot be defended with facts, it's probably not going to come together. And even then, the seller is free to decline and the buyer to walk away.
Every seller has to determine if he wants his price or to get sold. In most markets other than the anomoly markets that once existed in parts of California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada, you do not get both.
I am looking for my first house and reading this page avidly.
I set an upper limit of roughly 180,000.
So I look only at houses listing at 210,000 and less.
I have driven around the streets of my town, noticed some nice houses, but they were above my range
But now, some of them have reduced their prices! By quite a bit, 25-35,000! One house has come down by 60,000. That means the sellers were willing to sell for less, and could have all along.
But what if another buyer offered a lowball bid, and the seller accepted, without ever listing the reduced price? I would have never had the chance to bid. For all the seller knows, I might have bid _more_.
So for example, a seller lists their house at 230,000. I don't bid. Someone else bids 175,000 and it is accepted. I might have been perfectly happy to bid 180,000, but I never bid.
Another house I loved, but felt was just a bit out of my range so I didn't ask to see it, has just added a tag 'Seller needs to sell. Please make all offers'. Wow. What if someone else makes a low offer before I can even get a chance to go see it? I have been eying that house for a while.
So I don't think a seller should be insulted by lowball bids, unless they absolutely would never go below the listed price. If they would go lower and if only _some_ people make low bids, and if they are accepted, and a house I like might sell without my ever making a bid.
If I can talk my realtor into it, I'd almost like to make a bid of my highest possible price (180) on every house I really like, within reason (say, up to 235).
What do you think?
Last edited by Karen59; 09-24-2008 at 01:57 PM..
Reason: looks wierd has : [SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
On another note, I have a rental house listed in the MLS for $1500.
It is a brand new builders model so it has all the upgrades, 2600 living on 3/4 of an acre.
I know the market is not great but I have already had 2 people call and ask if it was for sale for the $1500.
Some sellers may be delusional but some buyers are from another planet.
Karen59...you say you have set your limit.......have you actually been approved, not just 'pre' approved? IMO find out exactly what the top number you would qualify for, and that will better help you know what price range to look it
(but dont spend it all in one place maxing out is scary)
Good luck
On another note, I have a rental house listed in the MLS for $1500.
It is a brand new builders model so it has all the upgrades, 2600 living on 3/4 of an acre.
I know the market is not great but I have already had 2 people call and ask if it was for sale for the $1500.
Some sellers may be delusional but some buyers are from another planet.
WTH are some people thinking??? Seriously, you have to be brain dead to think that the house is for sale for $1500.
Kristine
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maxing out is scary)
