Dear Mr. and Mr. Seller,

Thank you for the opportunity to show your house to my clients. You have a beautiful home and have maintained it wonderfully.

My buyer's really liked it so much that they decided to write an offer to purchase your home that was presented to you last week. Before they wrote their offer, they took the opportunity to work with me to determine a fair offer price. First, we looked at the most recent comparable sales in the neighborhood that were most like your home. Then we determined the per square foot value for each home and on average for the three homes that were most similar to yours. We also made price adjustments for differences in square footage, quality of materials, location within the community, lot size and condition. I have twenty years of experience selling real estate and make sure that my clients are educated based on the current sales data. While it is my job to make sure they get a good deal and you and your agent's job to get you a good deal--the price should somehow be determined by relevant data. Wouldn't you agree? Good, I thought so.

The average price per square foot for similar homes in the community (by the same builder, at the same time, with similar square footage) was $178.44 per foot, while the highest was $186.48 per foot. You are currently asking $212.55 per foot which is 12% higher than the highest sale price per foot. The latest and most similar comparable settled just last week for $35,000 less than what you want. That home had significantly more upgrades than your home and originally sold for $63,000 more than your home did at virtually the same time. The only reason I bring that up is because you explained your counter offer was based on the fact that when you had your home built, you spent a lot of money on upgrades--8 years ago. Please also remember that the next similar comparable home sold for over $60,000 less than you want and that was a larger home that backed to parkland that home sold for $31,233 more than yours originally did. We did take into consideration that your basement was partially finished and theirs wasn't. Even if you spent $30,000 to finish that basement (which is considerably high) that house, which sits on a lot that is 5,000 sf larger than your lot, would still be $30,000 less than your final counter offer.

If you or your agent can provide me with current comparable sales information for other similar homes in the neighborhood that justify the additional $30,000 you would like to get for a smaller, less optioned home several months later, in a severely depreciating market I will most definitely show them to the buyers. Their final offer at $197 per foot was a great offer and we would love you to reconsider.

Sincerely,

A. Agent