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Hi
How does house purchasing work in the US? Here in Englad (Scotland is different) people put their houses on the market at one price and people make an offer, usually about 10%, less than the asking price. Then there is a bit of tooing and froing and a price between the two is reached.
Is that the same in the US?
MAny Thanks
Paulz
Yep, basically the same. You list your house for sale at a price, and people can make offers. In a real hot market where there are multiple offers, the sale price can be higher than the listing price. But in a slow market, people offer less than the asking price.
10% seems quite a lot. i am trying to buy a house in Syracuse and basically offered a price that was only 4% lower, and then the sellers agreed to sell for 2% lower. and that was considered a 'good deal'. i suppose because the property market is so depressed in Syracuse, that lowballing the offer would just make people not take you seriously.
10% seems quite a lot. i am trying to buy a house in Syracuse and basically offered a price that was only 4% lower, and then the sellers agreed to sell for 2% lower. and that was considered a 'good deal'. i suppose because the property market is so depressed in Syracuse, that lowballing the offer would just make people not take you seriously.
It depends on the market. I used to buy a few homes(when the market was good) and immediately lowballed, if nothing more than to get a gauge on the seller by their counter offer. Usually if the property was under 100k I would offer 10k-15k lower than the price, example seller wants 99k I would offer 85k and then work our ways to a happy medium. In the 100-200k market I would offer 15-20k less, etc. To do this the buyer must know you are committed and want the property--that you arent just throwing numbers out there
It depends on the market. I used to buy a few homes(when the market was good) and immediately lowballed, if nothing more than to get a gauge on the seller by their counter offer. Usually if the property was under 100k I would offer 10k-15k lower than the price, example seller wants 99k I would offer 85k and then work our ways to a happy medium. In the 100-200k market I would offer 15-20k less, etc. To do this the buyer must know you are committed and want the property--that you arent just throwing numbers out there
Wow, I wish my buyer's agent gave that kind of advice, coz I was told to just accept it or offer only slightly lower price. I think Syracuse's houses around the SU area have a stable clientele and high turnover with students/faculty (or long-term homeowners), so the responses to lowballing isn't very favorable. But I do wish I didn't have the pressure of time to rush through the purchase, and that I had played hardball better. oh well.
Agents want sale at highest price, because their commission is a % of the sale price. I listen to the agent, but never let them dictate to me what I should do. My agent was pissed off because I countered to the seller's counter offer rather than accepting. It was only $500 difference, he said. Well, it's my $500. Seller accepted, and I saved $500. When it comes to negotiating, you have to be prepared to walk away or else you will pay too much.
Wow- an awful lot of new-to-us posers were randomly attracted to this thread... lol
As jrice said, the process works the same here, except that people rarely buy/sell a house without an agent. The sellers pay the total 6% of final price- half to the seller's agent and half to the buyer's agent.
And I wouldn't say that our housing market is "so depressed"... many people aren't be selling because they don't want to sell at a low price and many of those who DO have their homes for sale are holding out for the right offer. They want to move up, not out... they're not going to sell without a large enough profit to put a standard down payment (20%) for a conventional loan. I've been looking through listings in the area for two years now and I've seen a LOT of the same houses on the market during that time. They're not desperate to sell, due to job loss or a lesser income; they're just wanting to move up. They'll wait for the right offer, even if it means listing during the high season and then taking it off and listing again the next year. So I would say that sales/prices are stagnant at worst and in the more desirable areas, kicking along just as or nearly as well as usual.
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