It's Not a Lowball Offer if its Accurate

I can't believe its still happening.

A seller puts a list price on their home. Apparently, they either have a misguided agent, or they choose not to listen to them. Granted - its a great house! But the home is grossly overpriced based on current market value and comparable sales. With the neighborhood knowledge we have, we can spot them immediately as overpriced for that area. I understand the psychology in play, but this market demands reality.

When our clients make an offer on a property, they do so with every bit of information we could find on value, comparables, upgrades, upcoming assessments...and we make FAIR OFFERS. Now, if someone has overpriced their home by $100K, and I make an offer $100K under their asking price, its not a lowball offer. It's a realistic offer. A market offer.

My home is worth about $400K in todays market. I can put a list price on the home of $750K if I want to, there is nothing to stop me. So does that mean if someone offers me $450K, that they are "low-balling" me?

No.

Sellers need to be open to hearing about the reality of market value, and realistically price the home. Then they, like other well priced properties, will likely experience multiple offers as the market improves. But getting offended because someone undercut your inflated price is not going to sell the home.

By the way, the elephant in the room is this - no matter what the agreed upon contract value, the home has to appraise. These days, getting a generous appraisal is unlikely at best. If you truly want to sell your home, take a deep breath, and find out what its worth and price it accordingly. Then my offer will be right in line with your price, and the deal will get done.