Comments on: What percentage of the list price should you offer on a foreclosure property?

By: Jon Griffith

Jon Griffith — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 06:29:45 +0000

And as a result, when sellers don’t get real, they don’t sell their home.

By: Steve Belt

Steve Belt — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:25:53 +0000

Hi Jo, I’d love to hear what type of response you get, when making offers that are 10% or more below the list price. I agree there is definitely a lot of supply right now. And I agree that much of it is still over-priced (or it wouldn’t still be for sale). Unfortunately, it’s just not common for sellers to “get real” in the face of what they perceive to be a low ball offer.

By: Jo Zac

Jo Zac — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 02:34:57 +0000

Well, I have to disagree with the above comments. I will be “that buyer” in a few months. I have also been “that seller” years ago even with the boom (pre-bubble). And the answer is, as with ANY commodity, item, etc. is SUPPLY AND DEMAND.
Regardless of what “the market” says something’s worth, I am going to offer various home/condo owners (in a couple months) what I FEEL LIKE paying…be it 90%, 60% or 99%. If they dont like the offer, or are “offended”—TOO BAD! There are SOOO many places for sale, I can “love” another home just as easily.
So for those who hate “insulting offers”….KEEP HOLDING your steaming pile.

By: Jon Griffith

Jon Griffith — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:41:54 +0000

You mentioned that the average sales price was 95% of list price in most single-family detached homes across the ARMLS database over the past year.

One statistic that I overlooked in the past was the percentage below original list price which shows a dramatically different number.

By: Steve Belt

Steve Belt — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:03:36 +0000

Derec, I completely agree with responding with the list price to low ball offers. If a buyer doesn’t negotiate in good faith, why should the seller feel obligated to “show their hand”.

By: Derec Shuler

Derec Shuler — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:00:58 +0000

Good post, I’m dealing with this issue as we speak where the buyer went almost 25% under list, told us it was low and asked us to counter. They were indignant that our counter was close to list and that we didn’t even try to meet them? Huh? We don’t play games like that in our business.