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I believe some Realtors shy away from lowball offers simply because some of the offers are simply insultingly low. Another reason may be, the more lowball offers that are accepted, the lower everyones home value becomes. It is ALL relative. I am all about getting a good deal, but at some point it crosses the line of diminishing returns. It is worth saving $30-40 a month on your mortgage by further gouging a seller that has probably already lost significant value on their house? Is it worth decreasing the value of your new neighborhood? I know this is just how economics works, but for the long term, all the current deals could come back and bite us. Next thing we will have magazines talking about will be the significant value drop in triangle area housing, which is not exactly a positive light when trying to attract more business and people.
....Just something to think about.
But, that is how our economy works. A buyer (of any product) is only going to pay what he/she feels the product is worth, regardless of what the seller or the seller's neighbors think. If the buyers who are currently in the market to buy houses in the Triangle are not willing to pay the prices current sellers feel their homes are worth, then they are not worth that much...until someone pays that much.
It is unfortunate for sellers, but this is the economic climate we are living in right now. I don't remember hearing anyone lamenting how much buyers were being ripped off when prices were artificially inflated. It is just economics, and no one said economics was nice to everyone - it rarely ever is. But at least we know it is cyclical, and right now is not going to be how it is forever.
I think the days are gone (for now) when people would buy houses just for the sake or status of being a homeowner, so buyers are being more picky. My husband and I are shopping for our first house, and we were actually discussing this the other day. We are not going to sell our souls or be house poor just for the sake of owning a house. In fact, I'd rather end up renting a larger place for a while instead of buying a house at a price that I do not truly feel it is worth.
Maybe other buyers currently in the market are approaching things like we are. We are renting month to month, so we're not in a hurry and have nothing to lose. We both have modest incomes and have been saving diligently for a long time to come up with a decent down payment. We know the locations we are willing to consider, but have a modest budget for those locations. It is possible to find houses within our price range, and we've looked at many. But we are also looking for a "starter home" that can be our "forever home" if necessary, so we're pretty picky. If a seller wants a 2008, top of the market price for their home, it better be in great condition.
We've seen a lot of houses that are sitting on the market, and sellers are not budging on price. Some of these places need a lot of work. I just don't think buyers out there right now are willing to pay premium prices for fixer uppers when there are short sales and foreclosures available. If they are going to have to do work, they want a discount.
Things just aren't what they were five years ago. I hope the OP is able to find a buyer that allows both parties to get a good deal.
Yes, I know. It just feels like we are swinging the pendulum so quickly in the other direction that the triangle is losing out on remaining a steady market. It is the same behavior during the runup. Unfortunately those that bought on the way up are getting hit harder than they should have on the way down when they have to sell. They were initially hit with artificially high prices and now at risk of selling for an artificially lower price.
Unless you HAVE to sell right now, don't. We need to dry up the supply so prices stabilize. That would be to everyones benefit, but of course it would require the majority to go into negotiations with that attitude, which will never happen.
I was listing agent on small home in Clayton. Listed at $146,000, home was priced lower than any in neighborhood. This was NOT our original listed price but sometimes sellers will "follow" the market instead of "lead" it.
Offer came in at $134,000. Sellers were really upset. I don't blame them. I asked buyer's agent if she looked at the comps, etc. She said she did and she had already written up 2 other offers for this buyer. He was just throwing out low ball offers until one stuck.
We countered. That same day, another agent called me to tell me she was bringing me an offer. She asked if I had other offers and I told her that I did. Her offer that day was FULL PRICE, closing in 3 weeks, buyer paying cash.
We are closed...everyone is happy. Hang in there! Being a seller is lousy!
My realtor told me to 'work with the buyer you have'.
He also said the best offers come in the first two weeks when you have pent up demand. (which we do)
So when my first offer came in after two weeks on the market...i was upset because it seemed to be a lowball offer...but my realtor negotiated them right up to exactly what he had said it should sell for (we had priced it up a bit knowing we would get negotiated down).
This is why he makes more money each year than any other realtor in town. He knows his stuff!
My last house sold for what I felt was an insultingly low amount of money. That realtor said the same thing: THis is the only offer you've had in 6 months...work with the buyer you have. The pain did go away over time!
For the life of me I cannot grasp what is "insulting" about a low offer. Good grief, it's a business deal. A negotiation. No one is calling your baby ugly or your husband a bum.
Houses are only worth what buyers are willing to pay for them. That's the reality. Whether it was in 2007, when I paid about 20k more than what I could sell for right now, or today, when I could legitimately offer 50k less for the last house I saw, because really? It's worth that to me.
As we are like miamiblue, and are in no hurry (the mortgage here is low, and we aren't planning to sell...we will rent it out)? I'm waiting for the price to drop on aforementioned house. If someone else is willing to pay asking price (and I dunno that it'll appraise for that) they can have the house.
Just like I don't have to pay more than I want, the seller has a choice in what they will settle for.
For the life of me I cannot grasp what is "insulting" about a low offer. Good grief, it's a business deal. A negotiation. No one is calling your baby ugly or your husband a bum.
I never got that, either. Unless the seller built it with their own two hands, freeform, from materials they personally dug out of the earth, and it is more "art" than "dwelling" I don't get it either.
Four pages in and all I see are anectdotes of personal experiences with real estate with no meaningful point of reference and void of any relevancy to the OP's question. With bad assumptions, stereotypes, and generalizations peppered about for good measure.
I'm sure this is all so very helpful to the OP. Reminds me why I don't venture on to the RE forum anymore!
For the life of me I cannot grasp what is "insulting" about a low offer. Good grief, it's a business deal. A negotiation. No one is calling your baby ugly or your husband a bum.
The "insulting" part is coming in at say 25% below asking price just to see if they can get it. I was not referring to a 5-10%'ers, just the ridiculous ones. From the buyers standpoint, you are right, just an offer. From a seller who may be losing their shirt as it is, it can be seen as being kicked when they are already down. It all depends on which side of the fence you are on.
I'm not. Since the agents get paid a percentage of the sale price, it's in their best interest to keep that number high.
That is my experience also so when I sold my last home I did it myself to avoid the middleman's commission. It was much, much cheaper just to have a professional real estate lawyer review the contract and things went very smoothly. I did have realtors making annoying calls telling me they could get more money if I listed with them but they had no real buyer, just empty promises so glad we stuck with our own buyer.
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