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Buying a home in Atlanta Who Determines the Sales Price? | Do You Ask for More?

By
Real Estate Agent with Long & Foster 0225078705

I was going through the Atlanta MLS tonight I had some thoughts,  There are a lot of great buyer incentives for Atlanta home buyers.  Some Atlanta homes for sale will have just been reduced 50,000 dollars, and the Atlanta home builder or seller is offering to pay closing costs for the buyers, an increased commission for the buyers agent, and will throw in extras for the buyer.  Let's think about this for a minute... a $499,990 home that is reduced to $449,900 the builder will pay your closing costs up to $6000 dollars, there is another 10K on the table for buyer extras or upgrades and, there is an increased commission for the buyers agent of 5%.  In my books the net sales price of the home is in the $420K range.  It sounds like a great price, and too good a bargain to pass up!  Doesn't it?  On first glance it is, but on second thought it is way over priced to have that much padding and movement in price.  The appraisal is already set because you are going to use the builders lender and financing...and it is new construction. It is going to appraise!

So do you tell you buyer to take it or write a lower offer?  Do you have the stomach to negotiate lower?  How much lower?  Upon further examinaion the last few sales that sold in the subdivision were in the $379K's!  Are you comfortable with this?  Instead of price do you try to negotiate the builder finishing he basment or making some custom changes?  How good a negotiatar are you?  Or sell your buyer that it is a hot deal?  Since there are a lot of gimmicks for sales, it is easy to pump the price up then lower it dramatically.  It does not mean it is worth either price since the home has been sitting for months...and already has every know extra to man other than hot and cold running servants!  So who will determine your sales price the seller or the buyer?

Posted by

James Crawford Broker Associate

Long & Foster Fredericksburg Virginia

678-595-5286 Direct

 

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Comments (14)

Steve Shaw
Keller Williams Realty - Mobile, AL
e-PRO, Gulf Region Properties Team
I think the buyer determines the sales price that he is willing to pay after getting all available information from his agent.  This is why it is so important to have a buyer's agent when thinking about purchasing a home from a builder.  The builder will have an agent representing his interests.  The buyer needs someone looking out for his best interests.
Sep 26, 2007 01:55 PM
Jim Crawford
Long & Foster - Fredericksburg, VA
Jim Crawford Broker Associate Fredericksburg VA
Steve Shaw  Do you think most buyers agents will encourage the buyer to make a much lower offer?  Or will they take directiosn from the on site agent that says "The price is firm!"
Sep 26, 2007 02:01 PM
Paula Henry
Home to Indy Team @ HomeSmart Realty Group - Avon, IN
Realtor - Indianapolis Real Estate - 317-605-4174
Jim - I say the buyer at this moment!  The price is never firm and if it is padded that much, I would recommend my buyer look elsewhere if the builder says it is.
Sep 26, 2007 02:26 PM
Jim Crawford
Long & Foster - Fredericksburg, VA
Jim Crawford Broker Associate Fredericksburg VA
Paula Henry  I agree wiht you, but I think a lot of agents would settle for what the bulider offered.  It is like those persons that buy a car without haggeling!  What is up wiht that!  I am always asked to leave the lot.
Sep 26, 2007 02:37 PM
Christina Ethridge
The North Idaho Dream Team powered by SKE Realty Group - Coeur d'Alene, ID
The buyer always determines the price, whether they are well informed, or not so well informed.  How hard of a negotiator our BA's are with clients depends entirely upon the client, not the BA.  The BA is always willing to walk away from a home, but some buyers invest themselves emotionally in a home and are not willing to walk away, even if it is over priced.  We work with several very prominent builders in our area and we have gotten excellent deals for buyers.  In today's market, no one should ever pay "list" price when 99% of what is listed is over priced 'junk' as Russel Shaw would say (we'll, he'd use a slightly different word, but you get the idea).
Sep 26, 2007 03:17 PM
Jim Crawford
Long & Foster - Fredericksburg, VA
Jim Crawford Broker Associate Fredericksburg VA
Christina Ethridge I like that!  "no one should ever pay "list" price when 99% of what is listed is over priced 'junk' "
Sep 26, 2007 03:29 PM
Darrel Quebedeaux
Evergreen Realty & Associates Inc. - Newport Coast, CA

I say give me a fully qualified buyer and we shall see who sets the price if the market is as it is today.  As a buyers Representative I specialize in making my buyers so presentable that the sellers take a hard look before turning their noses up if they really want a sale.

I am not in the business of helping people steal real estate but I do specialize in helping my clients find value and I work hard not to leave any extra dollars of their hard earned money on the table.

Sep 26, 2007 07:38 PM
Neal Bloom
Brokered by eXp Realty LLC - Weston, FL
Realtor CRS-Weston FL Real Estate

Jim,

Funny thing...have you ever heard of a builder selling new construction and the property did not appraise. Funny how they seem to always do...I wonder if this ever effected the crazy market we are in.

Sep 26, 2007 11:17 PM
Dawn DeGroff
Fredericksburg Realty, Inc - Fredericksburg, VA
A year or two ago a builder would never accept  a low ball offer in this area.  There were often multiple offers, so why should he?  Now it is a whole new playing field...why shouldn't he...he needs to get rid of inventory.  Same story with John Doe homeowner.
Sep 27, 2007 12:48 AM
Jim Crawford
Long & Foster - Fredericksburg, VA
Jim Crawford Broker Associate Fredericksburg VA
Darrel Quebedeaux  You are the mark of a true professional!  "I do specialize in helping my clients find value and I work hard not to leave any extra dollars of their hard earned money on the table."
Sep 27, 2007 01:11 AM
Jim Crawford
Long & Foster - Fredericksburg, VA
Jim Crawford Broker Associate Fredericksburg VA
Neal The Real Deal Bloom No I never heard that happen ever!  I recently had an in-town Atlanta builder call us to list a home that has been languishing on the market.  When we asked him what price he wanted to list it at... he said you can list it anywhere you want "Anywhere between $750,000 and 1.5 Million!"  We told him we were not interested.
Sep 27, 2007 01:14 AM
Jim Crawford
Long & Foster - Fredericksburg, VA
Jim Crawford Broker Associate Fredericksburg VA
Dawn DeGroff  Now you know that a lot of the sales that new homes make are just made out of technique.  When a builders representative tells you..."You better hurry, prices in the next phase are going up substantially!"  Gee you mean the ones that are sellign for 150K less than last year?
Sep 27, 2007 01:17 AM
Bill Roberts
Brooks and Dunphy Real Estate - Oceanside, CA
"Baby Boomer" Retirement Planner

Jim, builders with unsold inventory are between a rock and a hard place. They have "liability" for the houses they sold at a higher price. Did they fraudulently deceive their customers before? Did they have undue influence over the earlier appraisals? Do they have a "sweetheart deal" with the lender? Any of this could prove to be very costly to the builder. It is better for him to "eat" a little inventory than to open that can of worms.

I think you have to tell your buyer to look somewhere else.

Bill Roberts 

Sep 27, 2007 05:48 AM
Jim Crawford
Long & Foster - Fredericksburg, VA
Jim Crawford Broker Associate Fredericksburg VA
Bill Roberts Well I know the builders had lots of clout, and influence with loans, lenders, and appraisals.   After all...they have access to the real numbers net sales prices with all the extras added in!  In the early 90's I remember builders undercutting the pre-existing sold homes.  It was a disaster for the persons who purchased at the higher price,   That is also the risk in this current market...picture a subdivision 40% built out, and the rest of the subdivision is not developed...the builder comes off a fortune...your person buys, and then the builder goes bankrupt.  The rest of the lots are sold off, the lots sit for two years and then get auctioned off.  The new builders build products for half the price, with more in them.  How does your buyer react?  Do they claim my buyers agent never told me this could happen?  Is it their fault, or the agent's fault?  Also with the builder now out of business, no warranty!
Sep 27, 2007 08:52 AM