I agree. There is a bargain mentality raging through our nation that has not only infiltrated the Real Estate Market, it seems to define it.
Fed by constant news and images of foreclosures and distressed properties, plus a never-ending stream of statistics showing Seller Desperation, any potential Buyer who comes to the table feels it's time to get THE BARGAIN.
THE BARGAIN is no longer measured by carefully laid out statistics on pretty paper of neighborhood sales, price per square foot, list price vs. sell price, or any useful data, for that matter.
THE BARGAIN is simply this. Oh, they are asking 300K. I'll offer 150k! They must be desparate, cool, now I can practically steal this home!
WHAT IF?
To all of us out here, what if we were the buyers of today's world? Maybe some of us are. I can tell you that if I was in the position to buy right now, I, too, would be a lowballer. I would start as low as humanly possible and see where we land.
And if any Buyer came to me right now ready to offer something close to asking price, I would have to believe they just crawled out of a cave.
YES. WE KNOW that the CMAs we present reflect REAL asking/selling prices, and WE KNOW our info is valid. But come on. Rather than bitch and moan about these horrible lowballing ignorant buyers who want to practically steal properties, I think it's time to fess up that it is our own reflection we don't want to see.
For example, people who live in Phoenix have this idea that the Flagstaff Real Estate Market must now be flooded with beautiful little cabins in the woods with some treed land for less than 150k. There MUST be desperate sellers up there?
No. Not Happening. Not.
SO WHAT DO WE DO?
We are all in this together. Seller's Agents and Buyers Agents know the deal. It's not about changing THEM, it's about changing how we negotiate.
I believe it's just our job to talk talk talk talk talk to Sellers, and explain that almost any offer we recieve, regardless how ridiculous we think it is, should be met with HAPPINESS. That lowballers rule right now. Give them a rose and a welcome party! They came to the table with SOMETHING...... and if nothing else, it will certainly force the Sellers to get real with their bottom line. It's a great exercise.
If a Buyer wants to make a ridiculous offer, CELEBRATE. It's an OFFER. Yes it eats up our time. Yes it may lead to nothing. Yes to all of the negatives involved.
But for me, the most important YES is.. IT'S AN OFFER. Now I have the possibility to close a sale, when all of the agents with ZERO pain in the ass lowball clients have NO possibility of doing that.
So, here's to the crazy making, blood boiling, teeth grinding lowball client. If you don't want em, send me over to me!
Check out my website, TheFlagstaffWebsite.com, for easy searches of all Flagstaff Real Estate,
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