I'm sure you've experienced this with buyers in that you look at two dozen homes but they sometimes come back to the very first one you've looked at. The same could be true for the very first offer a seller receives.
Sometimes sellers get a little nervous when they get an offer right off the bat and it almost looks too good to be true. Sellers may think that listed too low or assume that if someone offered this much right away, should we hold out for more? I find that greed tends to step in in the situations and when people think they can get more even though they have a perfectly decent offer right off the bat, they could miss an opportunity for a perfect sale.
It's important to understand that just because a seller has received an offer early in the listing, doesn't mean that the property has been listed below its value. It can be easy to overlook how efficient the residential real estate market is an think that you could get more should you hold out. But this is one of the dangers of not accepting a tried and true, bona fide offer right away. Chances are, buyers and their agents have been waiting for this particular home so why would any longer when the right property presents itself?
Sellers should also not hold out for full price if they've received a slightly less than full price offer within the first 10 days. It may be tempting to assume sellers could receive more, but if they reject the offer and then the property sits on the market for two or three months without another offer, sellers and the agents will be kicking themselves for not taking that first offer. This to say that they couldn't get more for the sale, but the goal is to sell the property, not always to get the highest price.
In our markets, exposure to properties occurs pretty quickly and sellers shouldn't assume that they're going to get more the longer the house it's on the market. I'm not saying to not offer due diligence to your sellers by holding out for the highest and best offer, but often times, that first offer looks pretty attractive after you've declined it and sat on the market for three months. It's important to be reasonable and practical about the offers and remember what the true goal is after all.
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