A low-ball offer – generally 25 or more off the asking price – allows
buyers to see if they can land a great deal, even if they’re willing to
pay more. In a survey last year conducted by the National Association of
Realtors® (NAR), one in 10 respondents cited low-ball offers as a
concern. According to real estate columnist Kenneth Harney, a NAR survey
conducted in March and not yet released found that almost no one
complained about low offers.

When the number of listings outpaced the number of buyers, many
potential homeowners submitted a shockingly low offer on the theory that
they had nothing to lose. If the seller balked, most would still
counter with something below their asking price. Today, however, offers
close to the asking price – or even beating it – will probably come in
fairly quickly from someone else if a home is priced correctly in the
first place.

Even buyers who still want to low-ball an offer on a home many times
switch tactics after they lose a property or two to a more aggressive
buyer.

Florida Realtor Marnie Matarese works with J Wood Realty in Sarasota.
She told Harney that fewer buyers want to low-ball an offer in her area,
but they still come in – mainly from out-of-state or out-of-the-country
people who have read about the state’s foreclosures and short sales.
That news, however, is old – it has not kept up with reality in many
areas.

Matarese says some people still insist on making a low-ball offer, but
that she doesn’t mind. “You can’t blame a buyer for trying to get a good
deal,” she says.

In some cases, a seller isn’t offended by a low-ball offer, but their
counter-offer shaves only a little bit off their original asking price.
An Olympia, Wash., real estate agent had a $150,000 offer for a $250,000
listing, according to Harney. But after the dust settled and the seller
shook off his irritation, he and the buyer agreed to $230,000.

Harney closed his column with this advice: “Rolling low-balls at sellers
may have been an effective approach between 2008 and early 2011. But in
2012’s environment – at least in rebounding markets – it could be
counterproductive if you truly want to buy.”

Source: Ken Harney. Distributed by Washington Post Writers Group.

A low-ball offer – generally 25 or more off the asking price – allows
buyers to see if they can land a great deal, even if they’re willing to
pay more. In a survey last year conducted by the National Association of
Realtors® (NAR), one in 10 respondents cited low-ball offers as a
concern. According to real estate columnist Kenneth Harney, a NAR survey
conducted in March and not yet released found that almost no one
complained about low offers.

When the number of listings outpaced the number of buyers, many
potential homeowners submitted a shockingly low offer on the theory that
they had nothing to lose. If the seller balked, most would still
counter with something below their asking price. Today, however, offers
close to the asking price – or even beating it – will probably come in
fairly quickly from someone else if a home is priced correctly in the
first place.

Even buyers who still want to low-ball an offer on a home many times
switch tactics after they lose a property or two to a more aggressive
buyer.

Florida Realtor Marnie Matarese works with J Wood Realty in Sarasota.
She told Harney that fewer buyers want to low-ball an offer in her area,
but they still come in – mainly from out-of-state or out-of-the-country
people who have read about the state’s foreclosures and short sales.
That news, however, is old – it has not kept up with reality in many
areas.

Matarese says some people still insist on making a low-ball offer, but
that she doesn’t mind. “You can’t blame a buyer for trying to get a good
deal,” she says.

In some cases, a seller isn’t offended by a low-ball offer, but their
counter-offer shaves only a little bit off their original asking price.
An Olympia, Wash., real estate agent had a $150,000 offer for a $250,000
listing, according to Harney. But after the dust settled and the seller
shook off his irritation, he and the buyer agreed to $230,000.

Harney closed his column with this advice: “Rolling low-balls at sellers
may have been an effective approach between 2008 and early 2011. But in
2012’s environment – at least in rebounding markets – it could be
counterproductive if you truly want to buy.”

Source: Ken Harney. Distributed by Washington Post Writers Group.