Recent house hunters, how negotiable are sellers currently? (Scottsdale: real estate, broker)

[Steve Pickering]

My sister’s house was listed at $200,000. The bank took $100,000 just a month ago. Two years ago my Ex bought three houses all brand new for $60,000. They all were listed at $240,000 or somewhere there about. The value now on two of them is about $120,000. One of them now has no value as although brand new, the county wants development fees not paid by the defunct developer before anyone can occupy the home. I hope this helps.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

We're approved for the mortgage and are prepared to pull the trigger and offer a healthy EMD once we find the right house. I just wasn't sure just how competitive things really are. We're looking in the $400-500K range in Scottsdale which seems to be as competitive as the sub $250K range elsewhere. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Yeah that price range is pretty low for Scottsdale. Heck there's not much that's newer in my area of Chandler in that range (400-500K). From the areas you were talking about looking at in North Scottsdale, I would have assumed you were looking at houses in the 750K++ range, so yeah, there's gonna be some competition at the lower levels. Your best bet may be to look at houses approaching 30 days on the market, as that is when sellers will generally consider a price decrease (4 full weekends on the market). I think 10% off list price is ambitious, 3-5% is more realistic right now, unless it's priced aggressively.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by asufan

Yeah that price range is pretty low for Scottsdale. Heck there's not much that's newer in my area of Chandler in that range (400-500K). From the areas you were talking about looking at in North Scottsdale, I would have assumed you were looking at houses in the 750K++ range, so yeah, there's gonna be some competition at the lower levels. Your best bet may be to look at houses approaching 30 days on the market, as that is when sellers will generally consider a price decrease (4 full weekends on the market). I think 10% off list price is ambitious, 3-5% is more realistic right now, unless it's priced aggressively.

Nope, the houses we considered up by Cave Creek and Desert Ridge were within our price range, we just didn't care for the locations. You're right that we are toward the lower spectrum of Scottsdale though. There are a lot of houses around $450-500K for sale now, you just don't get a lot for your money in that range, in this location so it's tough trying to find the right compromise. I never thought a half-million dollar budget meant too many compromises but this process has been a heck of a reality check!

[asufan]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Nope, the houses we considered up by Cave Creek and Desert Ridge were within our price range, we just didn't care for the locations. You're right that we are toward the lower spectrum of Scottsdale though. There are a lot of houses around $450-500K for sale now, you just don't get a lot for your money in that range, in this location so it's tough trying to find the right compromise. I never thought a half-million dollar budget meant too many compromises but this process has been a heck of a reality check!

OK, that's North Phoenix, not Scottsdale. Big difference in price. I remember you looking at new Toll Brothers communities and those would be $750K+ after landscaping and upgrades, pool, etc. $500K can still get you something in N Phoenix, you're right, but that's still a hot area so I wouldn't expect to get anything 10% off. Doesn't hurt to make the offer but a seller may not even counter that.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by asufan

OK, that's North Phoenix, not Scottsdale. Big difference in price. I remember you looking at new Toll Brothers communities and those would be $750K+ after landscaping and upgrades, pool, etc. $500K can still get you something in N Phoenix, you're right, but that's still a hot area so I wouldn't expect to get anything 10% off. Doesn't hurt to make the offer but a seller may not even counter that.

The Toll Brothers community we were considering was in Cave Creek or north Scottsdale. I still don't know which one. We would have been able to do some upgrades and put the house on a decent lot for under $500k. It's just not the right location for us.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

The Toll Brothers community we were considering was in Cave Creek or north Scottsdale. I still don't know which one. We would have been able to do some upgrades and put the house on a decent lot for under $500k. It's just not the right location for us.

You might be surprised how much it costs for flooring upgrades, prewires, landscaping, appliances and countertops upgrades, window treatments, etc. Think $200K+/- I actually worked for them for a bit after college in Project Manager role before working for another developer and eventually starting my own business. You may want to have your Realtor pull actual closed prices in that neighborhood to see what is typical.

I'm kind of in the same boat as you. We wanted to stay close to $525K (South Chandler area). We are pre approved for a larger mortgage, but I don't want to finance more than $417K (conventional loan limits), and so that means a higher price would increase the down payment too much. Plus we plan to pay it off in 12-15 years. I looked at a house listed at ~$625K, waited for a reduction to $600K (it was overpriced at 625K) and made a $575K offer. They countered $585K and I countered just a bit more than my original and it was rejected so I walked, and it went under contract that week. Now we are under contract with another house in the $525K range and we actually like it better (doesnt have a disneyland type backyard like the other, but is a better floorplan). Just keep looking and it will fall into place eventually.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by asufan

You might be surprised how much it costs for flooring upgrades, prewires, landscaping, appliances and countertops upgrades, window treatments, etc. Think $200K+/- I actually worked for them for a bit after college in Project Manager role before working for another developer and eventually starting my own business. You may want to have your Realtor pull actual closed prices in that neighborhood to see what is typical.

I'm kind of in the same boat as you. We wanted to stay close to $525K (South Chandler area). We are pre approved for a larger mortgage, but I don't want to finance more than $417K (conventional loan limits), and so that means a higher price would increase the down payment too much. Plus we plan to pay it off in 12-15 years. I looked at a house listed at ~$625K, waited for a reduction to $600K (it was overpriced at 625K) and made a $575K offer. They countered $585K and I countered just a bit more than my original and it was rejected so I walked, and it went under contract that week. Now we are under contract with another house in the $525K range and we actually like it better (doesnt have a disneyland type backyard like the other, but is a better floorplan). Just keep looking and it will fall into place eventually.

The house next to the lot we were looking at sold for $490K. They're not as expensive because they're in the north pole! The base price was $415K or so, plus they're giving a $30k incentive which more than covers the lot. We want to be able to put 20% down so sadly $500k is the max for us.

Thanks, patience is not my strong suit so this is never a fun process for me!

[ShampooBanana]

It's all going to depend on how many concessions you are asking for, what timing is, if you are financing versus paying cash, etc. I will tell you most houses in anything under 300k right now are getting multiple offers within days to a week. I had my first open house for my home this past Saturday and now have two offers in hand, one of them cash. I can tell you personally I'm taking that one much more seriously unless the other party can offer more $$$.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by ShampooBanana

It's all going to depend on how many concessions you are asking for, what timing is, if you are financing versus paying cash, etc. I will tell you most houses in anything under 300k right now are getting multiple offers within days to a week. I had my first open house for my home this past Saturday and now have two offers in hand, one of them cash. I can tell you personally I'm taking that one much more seriously unless the other party can offer more $$$.

Wow, that's great for you! We will be financing after a 20% down payment. Hopefully that is strong enough. We took a cash offer when selling our last house so we didn't have to worry about the deal falling through from the appraisal possibly coming in low.

[ShampooBanana]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Wow, that's great for you! We will be financing after a 20% down payment. Hopefully that is strong enough. We took a cash offer when selling our last house so we didn't have to worry about the deal falling through from the appraisal possibly coming in low.

Yep that is another problem right now. For anyone doing a VA or FHA loan a lot of deals are falling through due to too low appraisals. Many appraisers have not caught up to the fact that average prices have shot up 2-3% per month in some places around here so looking at any appraisals over a month old and you likely won't qualify, and that is even if you can get through lenders.