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Are you comfortable offering less than the listing price?
Our house has been on the market for 2 weeks. After one week, the wife of our Realtor team suggested we drop the price, but the husband thought we could wait until two weeks. They said that our house has had a better turn out since they can't remember when. We had probably 40 realtors/people go through in the first two weeks. However we had no showings Friday or Saturday, and only one on Sunday. I have two more viewings scheduled for today and tomorrow.
All the feedback we have gotten has been good. However we don't have a driveway and we live in a popular urban neighborhood. (Although it should be obvious that we have no driveway before you schedule to come out to our house anyway, so why that is a complain after the fact perplexes me.) Also the ceiling height in the upstairs hallway is low, but the bedrooms all have higher ceilings. Those are the two things mention if they say we might be priced too high.
Anyway, if you liked a house, but thought it was priced too high, would you offer less?
We are right in with other comps, but on the higher end because of all the restoration work we have done. We are not a flip.
Our realtor keeps saying that price will cure everything, but I feel like if not having a driveway is a deal breaker for someone, then us lowering the price wouldn't fix it.
We offered $40K less on the house we are under contract to buy. I thought most people offered less, especially in a buyers market. If you were serious about a house, and really wanted it, would you be comfortable offering less? Or would you just decide it was too high and move on to something or wait for them to drop the price?
Re: Are you comfortable offering less than the listing price?
Yes, people offer less and I kind of see where you're coming from.
But at the same time - there were houses we didn't even LOOK at because their price was simply too far above our budget, we didn't feel we'd even have a shot. Heck- the first house we bought, this was exactly the situation. Then they dropped their price $10k, which brought it more into our budget, and we went and looked.
w/ the house we just bought - it was actually above our budget too, but DH really wanted to look at it. We did, we offered $45k below list, then negotiated to where we ended up right at the top of our budget.
But this one was IMPRESSIVE in it's pictures. There were other houses at the same price point that I definitely didn't bother becasue I was like "for that price, it's not worth it".
(Although it should be obvious that we have no driveway before you schedule to come out to our house anyway, so why that is a complain after the fact perplexes me.)
This aspect perplexed me too. In our listing, our very WHITE kitchen and WHITE appliances were more than obvious. But people would come and look and then comment about "we don't want a white kitchen". Um... o.k..??? I realize, though, that I may simply pay more attention/be more methodical in my housing research than other buyers.
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Yeah, if the feed back was more like the bathroom floor is gross, which it is, it is the only room we never got around to refinishing, then I would take that to heart. But to complain about something that I can't do anything about and is clearly obvious in the listing makes me realize they aren't the right people for the house anyway or aren't very serious, more of a lookie lou. Probably the same thing with your white kitchen complainers.
We also had someone complain that they really wanted new construction. Then why are you looking at a 1906 bungalow?!
Some people aren't very smart.
I think that perhaps your realtor should specifically mention in the listing that there is no driveway--unless it is specified, people may not realize it when first looking at photos or at a written listing with front elevation only.
The ceiling height in the hall may be a dealbreaker to some. They might like your house, but decide that low hallways are not something they care for. Since that is not expected and, I am sure not detailed in your listing, some people may decide it is a feature they don't care for and it can't be easily "fixed."
Your price might be putting you in the next category of price listings. We did not look above our "max" because we didn't want to really like a house that we might not be able to negotiate down to our range. Additionally, those who realize there is no driveway may be mentally calculating the price of a driveway install and realize that you are priced above the competition who do have driveways. You are already on the higher end so people may perceive that you are not as willing to negotiate as much.
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I have said this in these forums before, but in my area you would be considered crazy if you didn't offer less than listing. It just isn't a competitive area like that. But there is also a point where you wouldn't do that based on the difference between listing and what you thought it was worth-I would assume either I am way undervaluing and therefore I don't want the house that much or the owner is seriously overvaluing and isn't going to budge. Just not a good fit for both parties there.
I will echo PP that I always calculate costs that I think I will need to lay out into the price of the house. Say the house needs a new roof-I would mentally add that into the price, and I would also probably deduct that from what I am willing to pay if the seller isn't willing to fix it. The driveway installation is likely factoring into buyer's minds.
It should be obvious in our listing, the first sentence is, "Car free living in XX" The lot is not wide enough to put in a driveway, no one on our block has a driveway, few houses in our neighborhood have driveways, it was a streetcar suburb 100 yrs ago. The neighborhood has a reputation for being very pro-sustainability, the city's only environmental public school is here, and we are filled with hippies. The Bicycle is king here. (If you have seen Portlandia at all, my neighborhood is kind of the epitome of that idea, and a lot of it is filmed in my neighborhood.)
I guess my question is do you look at houses that are out of your price range? I am assuming people are only looking at what they can afford and if they like it, but think a few issues (no driveway, ceiling height) would be remedied by offering a lower price they would make a lower offer.
I'm assuming if they are in the house they can afford it. If they don't think it is worth what we are asking and are willing to negotiate then we are happy to do that.
To your question as to whether people look outside their price range, we have looked at a couple of houses which were maybe $10K more than what we wanted to spend, although not that impressed with either one. Knowing the market right now, it is certainly not unrealistic to assume that we could at least bargain them down that much. But I think looking well outside your price range is probably a bad idea. If I fell in love with a house that is well above what we want to spend, I will be super sad when we can't get it.
~Benjamin Franklin
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Our broker showed us houses +$70K over our price range. I thought she was crazy at the time. Now I look back at those houses an see they were sold well within our comfort range. I think in this market it's expected you'll offer less.
People complaining about obvious things like white kitchens etc are just looking for a way to be nice to their broker +/or you (don't know why) that they don't like the place. Houses are a personal thing - sometimes a completely fine place just doesn't jive with you, and so you grasp at straws to explain what it "wrong". That being said, we looked at numerous places that I knew weren't our dream house, but wanted the broker to show me so I could get a feel for what was on the market, and what I may have to compromise.
I wouldn't drop your price yet if you've only been on the market for 2 weeks, but that's JMO.Married My Love on 6/18/2006
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It depends on which range you are currently in (e.g., is you are asking 315, but willing to sell for less, you may miss all the people that are capping out at 300)
I didn't bother with a house that was 33% above my price range, then they lowered it to 18% above my price range I went to see it.
I just put in an offer yesterday
Sure. We did on several places.
As long as it wasn't priced SO far above my price point that I never went to see it in the first place.
I'd be comfortable offering somewhat less, though my agent seems to think it's crazy to do that if a house has just come on the market. That said, I sort of assume sellers list a bit higher than what they expect to get because of the market. I can see it two ways.
As a buyer, if I saw that you lowered the price after two weeks I'm going to think that you're in a hurry to move and open to an even lower offer beyond what you lower the price to. Don't lower to the lowest amount you would accept.
However, if I had seen your house and was on the fence, lowering the price might get me to make an offer. I think buyers are worried about overpaying and buying something that they would have trouble selling, so a lower price might alleviate that.
How well priced are you compared to other properties on the market? Take a look and make sure there isn't something bigger/better and cheaper. A lot of sellers are deluded about the value of their home (not accusing you of this) and ignore their agent's advice on price.
DH and I considered putting a low offer in on a house (but it sold before we got around to it). We liked it very much, but it wasn't perfect. We wanted to offer what it was worth to us and see if they'd take the offer. It wasn't worth the higher price to us.
So yeah, I can see someone thinking that for $X they'd want a driveway, but they'd deal without one for less money.
FMV (fair market value), that's what it's all about. Just because someone lists their house at a certain price, doesn't mean that's any where in the neighborhood of what the house is worth.
We offered $50K less the other day and the sellers balked at our offer. Then I found out that they priced their house based on comps w/updated kitchens and bathrooms (which this house certainly does not have). The listing agent said she didn't think improvements would be factored into the appraisal, so it shouldn't be factored into price.
I'm curious to see how long it sits on the market. In the meantime, we're moving on.
ETA: As for you, it sounds like you're priced reasonably based on comps. I'd probably wait to drop the price (unless you're at the $315 type mark where you're mising all the 300 and under buyers)
We just had an accepted offer on a house that we paid 11 k less than listed. It is a very desirable town in HCOL, but there were things that HAVE to be done ( the owners are smokers). We actually offered 30k less than list, but they countered with 5 k off, so we said 11k and they update to sewer.
Our realtor had us look at homes 50k out of our budget(but most sold at list or 3% below), but we still looked.
This is coming from a soon to be first time home owner, but if I saw the price drop in 2 weeks I would think you were desperate and wait for the price to drop more if I had the time and could afford the desired updates.
We just bought a place without a driveway. We offered much less than asking because we felt they priced it in line with comps that did have driveways/parking. In the end, they met us halfway.
It may be a dealbreaker to some in which case they won't bother to see your place. But if you don't have parking you'll need to adjust for that price-wise. Around here, there's a *big* difference in price for places that have parking/drive ways vs. those that don't.
Seriously, this is a prime example of an unreasonable seller. Kitchens and bathrooms can be CRAZY expensive to update. Hey, maybe they don't really need to sell all that badly.
Our agent was pretty shocked when the listing agent told us how they priced the house. At first, my agent was pushing us to go higher, reminding us that we wanted a house that needed work. I think I forcefully replied: "Yes, but I want that reflected in the price!" Plus, once you open up the walls of a bathroom, it seems like you're bound to find something wrong (e.g., mold, leaks, lead pipes, code issues) 50% of the time.
Yes, we have always offered less (only 2 houses purchased). However, when selling our house we also had a bit of a skewed view, we felt our house was worth a higher asking price than we got offers...much different. And we didn't even look at the house we are currently buying until they dropped the asking price $10k, then we looked and offered below that "new" asking price again.
It's a hard thing, but Feb, is a tough time to start selling in most of the north and I think if it was May and you had been on 2 weeks, you should lower right away, but being that it's Feb and less people are buying, you might want to just wait a few more weeks.
ETA: I think the other hard thing to realize is that the comments about things that you cannot change (location, enough land to add a driveway, etc.) really relate to price. Lots of sellers will take less for less money, but if a comp has something in location or something you cannot change and is about the same, it's probably going to sell better than a place with something you can't change and an updated kitchen. Kitchens can change, lot size, cannot. (I sort of hate myself for saying this b/c I know we'll get killed on this when we sell our house b/c it's on a corner and across the way is a weird old business that we can't change.)
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Thank you everyone for your feedback!
We are priced at 390 and are considering dropping down to 375 so that we get w/i the next bracket of searchers. The house 1 block from us that has 2 fewer bedrooms, and has no original woodwork, sketchy kitchen and the 2nd floor is just finished attic space, literally 1 giant room, just sold for 360.
A house the same size as ours (not sure if it has a driveway) a few blocks away recently sold for 395.
A house with the same beds/baths but more sq ft is currently listed for 499.50. It is on a super busy street so I'm not sure what they are thinking?
A house with 1 less bedroom and less sq ft is on the market for 375.
I worry that if we drop now at 2 weeks that we will lose all our negotiating cushion. We have a contract to buy contingent upon the sale of our bungalow. We want to be perceived as serious about selling, but not desperate. So thanks for your feedback.
We offered $25k less than asking on the house we're under contract for. We ending up getting it at $18900 less than asking. I think it's very normal to offer less than listing.
Just keep in mind that lowering your price so soon is going to send a message to buyers that you're serious about selling, i.e., it may attract some lowball offers.
We're looking at a place right now that we consider overpriced and they dropped by $20k within a couple weeks (it sounds like partially based on our feedback). Unfortunately to US, FMV is far less than $20k off their original asking, but now we're considering putting in an offer. Is the house everything we could dream of? Nope and we knew that visiting the first time. We haven't found a house that 100% matches our criteria. But it's a pretty great house in a lot of ways and we'd be happy to live there - at the right price.
I wouldn't lower just yet if you just listed and are getting lots of traffic but I feel for you! We have a contingency offer in now and also just listed. We just got a really low ball offer and I'm almost wishing we had listed a little bit higher so we could have the room to go down more because we thought we were being smart listing very competitively since we want our dream home so badly but now it seems like maybe it was dumb since we are getting buyers who want to pay even less. I don't know.... I just asked for advice on the low ball issue and I worry you may encounter the same problem if you lower (getting the 350 range buyers.) I guess it really depends on how low you are comfortable taking and how quickly you have to sell to get your contingency home.