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Found a home that I was interested, even though it was the most expensive in the neighborhood by approximately 65k (15% above the last comp) it definitely had the bells and whistles and a unique floor plan.
I started around 10% below asking (including cc) and my last offer was about 7.5% below asking and the most the seller has come down in our multiple counter offers is 2.5% below their original price without paying for cc. Home has been on the market for a little over 2 months and they have not officially made any price reductions.
Homes in this price range have not sold in the past year AT ALL. Should I move on? What are the sellers thinking? I have already received my realtor's opinion but would like a broader survey. (The home is unique but certainly not worth asking price at this time)
My agent feels it is worth closer to what my last offer was. In fact, he felt I was being more than generous. But, it is a very nice property hence the reason why I'm even offering 40k more than compared to the nearest "comp".
If you are sure it is worth your time and effort, have an independent appraiser take a look to obtain a professional opinion of the value. If it is priced high you won't be able to get financing anyway so do your homeowork first. Sales people have an interest in the outcome...their commission.
Also, there are plenty of other posts regarding how much to pay for home in today's market so be sure to read them. Were renovations done? If so, why not verify that all the city inspections were completed so you don't end up with a broken heart. Use an independent inspector should you decide to continue and not one who is dependent on future work from a salesperson. If the home has a chimney there are specialists, use separate plumbers and electricians to obtain profession opinions. The more varied your advisors are, the better information you will have.
How long do you plan to live in the home? If you are going to spend the rest of your life growing equity only in that house, it won't matter whether you over pay in today's market. If you have a shorter time line, then only pay today's price point. No one can honestly say how long the housing market will be down so consider whether you can afford the higher price and your long term goals. Always remember, location is critical so look beyond the front yard to conisder everything. Best of luck to you.
While I know you are wanting a broader audience opinion, none of us have seen the house nor any of the comps...unless we have to ATL agents on here, but I don't think we do. If your agent thinks that it is worth your original offer, then you have the only opinion that matters, your buyer agent and yours.
It sounds like you need to walk away and wait for the sellers to come to reality, but that means you risk losing the house to someone else that wants to overpay.
Homes in this price range have not sold in the past year AT ALL. Should I move on? What are the sellers thinking? I have already received my realtor's opinion but would like a broader survey. (The home is unique but certainly not worth asking price at this time)
You have to decide if the property is worth it to you. The sellers might not be able to come down anymore. If they are right on the edge of breaking even, coming down more might not be worth it to them or they might not have the funds to make up the difference.
My recent experience is that some sellers can and will wait for the price they want (or closer to what they want). The sellers of the house we bought were willing to wait a year. Their plan was to sell their house and buy into a retirement community. They didn't have much equity in the their home so they didn't feel like they could (or wanted to) drop the price much. There were no children in the house and they were retired so I think they could fairly easily cope with keeping the house neat and clean.
We first looked at the house about 4 months before we decided to put an offer in. We couldn't get it out of our minds and everything else paled in comparision. I'm still not sure if we got a good value or not. (Appraisal came in right at our agreed upon price.) But, we love the house and it should suit our needs for many, many years.
Maurenemm, let us know what happens. It sounds like a great home and I look forward to finding our forever home, if only I can get husband to retire! In today's market, it is so hard to know what to pay but eventually, it will all work out as it should.
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