How to Make an Offer in a Transitional Real Estate Market
By: ericbramlett | Posted: 18th November 2006
I got my start in the real estate business about four years ago - when the market in Austin, Texas could be described as "bad," "on the decline," "busting," or worse!!! We preferred to describe it as a "buyer's market." This way, it made the real estate buyer feel privileged - not foolish. At that time, when I was lucky enough to find someone willing to risk the "buyer's market," we'd search high and low for weeks to find the perfect home - and then the question would come, "How low do you think we should come in?"
More often than not, in a buyer's market, we'd start at around 90-95% of the seller's asking price. If we offered 95%, usually it was taken. If we offered 90% - we'd usually go back and forth a bit until we landed at, you guessed it, 95%. This was, of course, as long as the seller didn't have their home listed ridiculously above or below the Fair Market Value.
Well...the market is shifting, and I'm lucky enough to have sold quite a few homes to buyers willing to risk the "volatile," "buyer's market," that actually turned out to be a legitimate "opportunistic market." Now I'm in the position to have helped quite a few people buy low and sell high - and I'm receiving quite a few referrals in the Austin Texas Real Estate market. One big thing I've seen change is the way we come in with an offer.
In the Austin Texas Real Estate market, we're in the funny position of just coming out of a bad, or "buyer's market" and not quite into a full-blown "seller's market." The best way to describe our market, and the way we approach it, is "fair." Seller’s & their Real Estate Agents understand that, if the home is priced correctly, it will sell in a reasonably short period of time.
Because of this, the general rule of “let’s come in 90-95% of their asking price” no longer applies. If a home is priced correctly, and the buyer offers 90% of the asking price, more than likely the seller will tell them to either resubmit, or go away. Likewise, if the buyer offers 95% of the asking price, the seller will likely come off the price slightly, but with the message that “we’re not moving much more than this.”
The bottom line is that a transitional market is a “fair market.” Nothing is more important in a fair market than a home’s true Fair Market Value. Because of this, it’s more important than ever to make sure that your real estate agent will complete a thorough Comparative Market Analysis. Once that is done, and with the right real estate agent’s presentation skills, you might not have to negotiate – merely make one offer that is accepted.
About the Author
Occupation: Real Estate Broker
Eric Bramlett is the Broker and co-owner of One Source Realty in Austin Texas. He has seen considerable success in real estate, and looks forward to many more years in the business. Eric currently invests, renovates, and develops real estate in the Greater Austin Texas Market. He spends his time working with select clients, helps his new agents get started in their real estate careers, helps his experienced agents progress their careers to the next level, & when he has time…he takes his dogs to the lake. Visit Eric’s Austin Texas Real Estate Guide & visit his Austin Texas Real Estate company’s website.
Austin Texas Real Estate
Austin Texas Real Estate
Austin Texas Real Estate
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Tags: period of time, short period, s market, referrals, estate business, real estate agents, perfect home, asking price, decline, real estate market, fair market value