I’ve been a full time Realtor for nearly 12 years. I’ve been through good markets, GREAT markets, slow markets and BAD markets. One thing always remains constant. …Never drop the ball when you have an offer!
Case in point: Last year, I had QUALIFIED buyers that wanted to purchase a home in one of our upscale communities. This home had depreciated and I could back up that fact with my market statistics. We wrote the offer, low, but a starting point. When I say low, I am saying we were WELL within current market price points, but it was low according to what the sellers were asking.
I called the listing agent who presented our offer. I waited for the call, as I was sure we would get a counter. Imagine the shock when the sellers simply declined. DECLINED. “Please submit a better offer”. Excuse me? Just simply counter back and we’ll keep the ball in the air until all parties are satisfied. If we just drop it, we will NEVER come to an agreement.
It was this agent’s FIRM belief that her sellers should not counter a “lower than asking price offer”. What year are we in? Did the upper end market not just crash? My buyers were not showing their best hand upfront, and why should they? We had a 30 month supply in this price range. The sellers took this agent’s advice and refused to counter, ever!
Fast forward to today: My buyers have now built their dream home across the street from this very home. …For less than they were willing to purchase that home for. The declined offer home has not yet sold and is now on agent number 2, with a $61,500 price reduction. My buyers offered them more than they are now willing to sell for. Pride got in the way.
It is of my opinion to counter each and every offer, no matter what the starting price may be. Leave your emotions at the door. This is business. Consider it a tennis game…as long as the ball is in play, the game is still on. You drop the ball, game over!
The first agent should have educated their clients…after all, isn’t that what we are paid to do?
- Elizabeth
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I was presenting an offer today that might have been considered “too low”. However, I told the sellers that they want to sell their house and the buyer wants to buy their house, so let’s look at the most recent comps and see what we can do to make that happen. Truly, it’s our job to advocate for our clients and to serve their best interests. How is it in a seller’s best interest to just reject offers out of hand without any attempt at negotiation? It’s a business transaction, not a personal insult.