When you get an offer on your home, I refer to this as an 'At Bat'. I have often discussed with clients that are resistant to lowering their price, but still haven't had an offer - 'let's price it to at least get an 'at bat' and you can then decide if you are netting enough to make this move. Where we are currently priced, we aren't even getting an 'at bat'. ' (BTW - terminology comes from years of kids in little league).
So what do you do when you have an 'at bat'? Keep your eye on the ball my friends! Remember the goal and the master plan. It's silly to win the battle but loose the war in your negotiation. I read a wonderful and painfully familiar example of just this conversation on The Phoenix Real Estate Guy's site. Definitely worth a read.
One of my listings in the last year was priced at $1.6. My seller had an offer at $1.5 (which in my mind was a 'Merry Christmas' given the builder was selling inventory at $1.4). I advised him to accept based on my conversations with the Buyer's agent, because I was fairly confident the Buyer would walk.
My seller insisted on a Counter at $1,550,000. Buyer walked. My listing expired. Seller eventually sold - for $1,250,000. That short sightedness cost my seller $250,000.
Remember, unlike the previous example, negotiations are not always about price . A buyer may have things that are important to them outside of price - like close of escrow period, deposit, occupancy, repairs, or closing cost concessions. In a buyers market, be aware that if you dig your heals in, you may loose your buyer so be sure it's worth it.
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