Buyer and Seller Tips

Buyer Tip: Are there guidelines to how much a Buyer should offer?

Now you’ve found the house you want, how much should you offer to pay for it? This can be a tricky puzzle, because there are no carved-in-stone guidelines. Some homes are overpriced, while others are a "real steal" at the full asking price.

Ask your agent for comparables
To determine a fair purchase offer, ask your agent to prepare a written comparative market analysis showing the sales prices of similar neighborhood homes that sold recently and the asking prices of comparable homes currently on the market.

Compare the details
To calculate your best offer, compare the features of the home that interests you with the features of similar homes that have sold recently in the same neighborhood.


Seller Tip: The dangers of overpricing.

Sometimes sellers are tempted to test a higher price at first to see if they’ll be lucky enough to find an uneducated buyer willing to pay. Unfortunately, experience shows this "Why not?" pricing strategy rarely pays off. Instead, asking the right price from the start avoids the many dangers of overpricing.

The right sales price is based on several factors: size of the house and its special features and amenities, recent home sales, demand for homes in your area and prices of similar homes currently on the market. Ask your agent for a detailed Comparative Market Analysis to determine the best price to list your property at.