I received a call today from a prospective buyer from Frisco, TX. He is seeking a Prosper home, in the $600k-800k price range, but wants to make sure that he buys what he would consider a 'deal' in our town. Explaining to buyers that a home listed at $150.00/sf may actually be a fantastic deal is not always an easy sell. Especially with a local buyer. This buyer wasn't hanging around in the housing market when the builder was selling the home new at $185.00/sf before the recession. The home hasn't necessarily been deeply discounted from it's original list price. And, some of the best deals don't have the terms 'short sale', 'foreclosure', or 'REO' anywhere in their marketing.
A savvy Collin County, TX agent can price a home and market it to where it will draw in showing traffic. The home may very well be listed at a great post-recession price in the MLS. No distressed marketing terms are required or necessary on these homes. And, yet, because they may be missing the 'obvious' signals in the marketing, a buyer may presume that they aren't getting a great deal. However, that price may very well be right on the money for the post-recession value of the home.
Before you blow off a buyer of this sort, and just assume he is unreasonable, it may benefit you to take a moment and attempt to educate them. We can send sale comps to buyer to justify the list price and show that the home is a great deal. We can encourage the buyer to tour our inventory and really get a feel for what they get for the money from our resale and new home market. But, ultimately, the buyer is the one who has to decide if they agree that the home is a deal. Many buyers will overlook an occupied resale home for a vacant distressed property or a builder spec, thinking that is the better deal. That may or may not be the case. The occupied resale home may actually be the best purchase in the current market, for the best overall return on investment.
There are 12 homes in Prosper that I would personally label a 'deal' in the luxury price point matching this buyer. The amount of land you get with the homes plays an important factor in why these homes are the best overall value, but is not the only factor. The stiffest competition is going to come from new construction. But, of the 12 noted best-buys I've picked for this buyer, not a single one of these homes is new. 100% were built 2000 or later, and all of them are single-owner resale properties.
If you are coming out to Prosper in search of a deal, don't assume that the best deal is distressed in any way. It very likely isn't distressed at all.
Have a blessed day!
Ronda
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