Yesh - so I am not thrilled with the title of this post, but its what came to mind.
It is a Buyer's market. We all know this. The Media tells us so. OK - so don't use the Media as your benchmark - please! If we listened to everything the media tells us we would never leave our homes!
So let your Realtor tell you - It's a Buyer's market. There are many homes on the market. Lots. Prices are lower than they have been in years. Interest Rates are still pretty darn good.
This year I am taking pride in making deals - good deals for my buyers - with very little (if any) of the tense and often frustrating back and forth.
The key is that every property is different. Every seller has a different motivation. I educate my buyers to pass on by the seller who seems unmotivated and focus on a property with a good value and a motivated seller.
Then we weigh how one property differs from another. For instance: Mr Buyer Loves Property "A" and really likes Property "B". We discuss the price difference. We talk about the price ranges of all the other like properties. Then we determine - based on List Price - is it a good value?
Next we talk about what the sellers motivation to sell is? When did they buy? WHat did they pay? Why do we tthink they are moving? Is it priced right to start? Have they taken reasonable price reductions?
Lastly we roll-play. I have them play Buyer and I play seller. They offer x... I counter y. They come back with z; I counter with a... then we agree in the middle.
Trying to out-think the seller seems to help. By adjusting our starting bid up or down a few thousand seems to have gotten us the deals.
It seems that buyers who start out at the "Ridiculously" low level - don't get the end goal. The Buyers feel ripped off by the sellers didn't come down enough and the sellers feel so beat up they don't want to negotiate fixing that last little widget that is broken in the kitchen. Everyone is miserable.
The moral of the story:
Buyers: Set real-educated expectations. Don't over-pay; but pay a "smart" price from a motivated seller.
Sellers: Be motivated. Price your home correctly and expect to sell at a reasonable price.
Greed will kill every deal.
Call James for all your Real Estate needs and questions; servicing Virginia, Maryland and the Greater Washington DC area.
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Chevy Chase
5028 Wisconsin Ave NW Suite 100
Washington DC 20016
202-351-5800 Main Office
Licensed in DC,MD,VA
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Greed, indeed, will kill the deal. The Seller should fall out of love with his special ceiling fans and sink faucets. They may not be the buyers taste and they really don't add value to the price. What you're neighbor sold his place for in '05 doesn't matter either.
The only thing I disagree with is "What did they pay?" If they bought the house 30 years ago for $17,000 does it matter? No. If they bought it in 1999 right before the "frenzy" but re-financed all their equity and are mortgaged to the hilt, will it make a different? Yes. The market then has no bearing on the market now.