Lowball Offers

We're seeing almost nothing but low ball offers right now. And, unfortunately, that seems to be the case even when the house is clearly already priced very aggressively. In the most recent case the agent agreed that the price was competitive but said his clients were unable to afford any more. I guess you never know until you try!

But here's the dilemna. Prices need to fall. If all the sellers are keeping their prices artifically high because they know they'll get lowballed. And if buyers are not looking at the houses because they believe the pricing is still too unreasonable we're kind of at a stalemate!

Somebody has to blink first!

So, if you're a seller give me some feedback. Are you pricing your house higher to factor in the almost certainty that you'll get a lowball offer? If you're a buyer, if you saw a house that you loved and the comparables clearly showed that the pricing was reasonable, would you still lowball?

Agents, how are you advising your sellers when setting prices and your buyers when making offers?

re: Lowball Offers

I've been lucky enough to have sold three of my listings in the last month.  We received contracts on these three listings within 3-10 days of putting it on the market!    Though not full price, these came in pretty close to asking.  I am advising my clients that buyers are value shopping and to price as aggressively as they can bear.  So I look at the comparable sales and determine a reasonable price range.  However, right now, I belive the price of competing properties holds more weight than comparable sales. 

BUT pricing is the second step.  It is also just as important to prepare the home for sale.  It absolutely has to look the very best in its price range!  Or it simply wont sell.

re: Lowball Offers

Robin,

Thanks for your thoughts! Good input! Putting a home on the market these days without doing the work to make it sparkle is just waste of time and money!

Your experience bears out what I've been seeing with homes either going under contract quickly or not at all! Can you tell us general geographic area where these listings are?

Nice job on your listings!

Julie