As an agent with David Realty Group in Westfield, NJ, I have ironically been working with 3 buyers this week who perpetually lowball every offer. Family #1 - are searching for Westfield homes - Upon walking into a house today that we were visiting for the first time at 670K, they said what should we bid - 600K? I told them I'd have to see it first and after seeing it, I would need to run the comparables. Regardless of how much time I've spent educating each buyer on how the real estate market "works", they continue to bid lowball offers. I would imagine that at some point, 2 of the 3 families will realize that we continually lose our bids and they are still without a home and that perhaps the method I am suggesting is the correct one. The 3rd family - are searching for Springfield homes - would like to move but they don't really need to. All three families have a common denominator - they are first time buyers being coached by their parents who bought real estate in the 80's before there were computers, when people would have to go down to the town and waste hours finding out what recent sales may have taken place in the area. Therefore, seller and buyer were essentially 'clueless' and lowball offers were entertained and sometimes accepted. Today, the buyers, the sellers and the realtors know exact values of homes b/c we all have every website imaginable to find out everything we need to know about a home. In the rare ocassion that a home is grossly mispriced in today's market, the lowball offers are expected and acceptable but when a home is priced to sell, lowball offers will get a buyer no where but the home they are currently in.
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