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SweetTooth
I'm a tired mommy!
Member since 12/05 20105 total posts
Name:
Lauren
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Asking price vs. your bid
I have been told by a number of people that you should offer 20% less than the asking price for a house. Is this true? How often is a bid like this accepted?
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Posted 7/11/06 12:50 PM  |
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Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate
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schnapy
LIF Adolescent
Member since 9/05 766 total posts
Name:
Diana
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
i DONT KNOW ABOUT 20%, YOU CAN TRY
WHEN DID THESE PEOPLE BUY THEIR HOUSES
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| Posted 7/11/06 12:56 PM |
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Kelly9904
Mommy to 2 amazing little boys
Member since 5/05 9306 total posts
Name:
Kelly
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
Message edited 1/30/2009 2:20:43 PM.
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| Posted 7/11/06 12:59 PM |
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SweetestOfPeas
J'taime Paris!
Member since 3/06 32345 total posts
Name:
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
it depends on the house, price and seller and how long its been on the market. you can certainly try to offer 20% less. but if the house is in great condition and priced to sell, I highly doubt they would even counter a 20% below asking offer.
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| Posted 7/11/06 1:06 PM |
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Blu-ize
Plan B is Now Plan A
Member since 7/05 32475 total posts
Name:
Susan
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
I would think that 20% below is doubtful. If the home has been sitting and the sellers need to get out they may be flexible, but that's a big number.
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| Posted 7/11/06 1:16 PM |
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lululu
LIF Adult
Member since 7/05 9509 total posts
Name:
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
I had two people bid 7% below ask and I met one of them halfway. I wouldnt have even counter offered someone that bid 20% below ask, nor would i want to hear any offers from them after that because i wouldnt take them seriously. Your realtor should be able to give you better guidance though.
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| Posted 7/11/06 1:19 PM |
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SweetestOfPeas
J'taime Paris!
Member since 3/06 32345 total posts
Name:
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
just wanted to add that DH and I bid on a townhouse back in the begining of Feb and what we bid was 6% below asking. the seller wouldn't even counter at 6%. his loss though... it's still on the market and reduced to below what we offered  (serves him right!)
I say if the house has been sitting and it's not in the best of condition, you have a lot of leverage. I highly recommend that you find out what the seller's situation is first though.
good luck!
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| Posted 7/11/06 1:23 PM |
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My2Boys
Love.
Member since 10/05 4796 total posts
Name:
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
Even in this market, 20% below asking is an insult, IMO (unless the house is grossly overpriced). Good luck!
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| Posted 7/11/06 1:31 PM |
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SweetestOfPeas
J'taime Paris!
Member since 3/06 32345 total posts
Name:
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
Posted by My2Boys
Even in this market, 20% below asking is an insult, IMO (unless the house is grossly overpriced). Good luck!
why is it an insult? 
Message edited 7/11/2006 1:35:26 PM.
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| Posted 7/11/06 1:35 PM |
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wilandnet
LIF Infant
Member since 9/05 224 total posts
Name:
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
We generally made bids about 7% under asking. We did this on 3 houses. 2 of them would not even respond unless we offered more...we didn't. The third one countered by only going down 1%. All three are still on the market and are currently asking below what we offered. We made our offers about 5 months ago!
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| Posted 7/11/06 1:35 PM |
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Hi-Fi55
12 years...wow....
Member since 2/06 2984 total posts
Name:
Dianne
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
Oh Lauren, are you buying my dear???
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| Posted 7/11/06 1:36 PM |
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SweetestOfPeas
J'taime Paris!
Member since 3/06 32345 total posts
Name:
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
Posted by wilandnet
We generally made bids about 7% under asking. We did this on 3 houses. 2 of them would not even respond unless we offered more...we didn't. The third one countered by only going down 1%. All three are still on the market and are currently asking below what we offered. We made our offers about 5 months ago!
yup... same happened to us.
the buyer determines the market, end of story. some of these sellers need to get a clue 
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| Posted 7/11/06 1:40 PM |
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lululu
LIF Adult
Member since 7/05 9509 total posts
Name:
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
Posted by SweetestOfPeas
Posted by My2Boys
Even in this market, 20% below asking is an insult, IMO (unless the house is grossly overpriced). Good luck!
why is it an insult?
This is how i feel and this is only my opinion. As a seller - if you were willing to take 20% below ask, you would lower your asking price. So for someone to offer that much less than what you are asking you just feel like they are not serious buyers and they are wasting your time. Sellers know the market too, and they price it where they do for a reason. A house that is grossly overpriced to the point where 20% less would be a more appropriate price does not have a motivated seller and would still not consider an offer that low. You would have to get very lucky for a seller to consider an offer 20% less.
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| Posted 7/11/06 1:40 PM |
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SweetestOfPeas
J'taime Paris!
Member since 3/06 32345 total posts
Name:
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
Posted by lululu
Posted by SweetestOfPeas
Posted by My2Boys
Even in this market, 20% below asking is an insult, IMO (unless the house is grossly overpriced). Good luck!
why is it an insult?
This is how i feel and this is only my opinion. As a seller - if you were willing to take 20% below ask, you would lower your asking price. So for someone to offer that much less than what you are asking you just feel like they are not serious buyers and they are wasting your time. Sellers know the market too, and they price it where they do for a reason. A house that is grossly overpriced to the point where 20% less would be a more appropriate price does not have a motivated seller and would still not consider an offer that low. You would have to get very lucky for a seller to consider an offer 20% less.
as I understand it, sellers put their house on the market with some room to negotiate. this is not a new concept. some list it for a lot more room than others. (IMO anyway) in this "new" market though, there is a reason why so many houses are sitting. and I highly doubt that it's all because of baby boomers trying to fund their retirement.
the buyers and sellers are at an impasse. so a lot of houses are sitting.
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| Posted 7/11/06 1:47 PM |
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lululu
LIF Adult
Member since 7/05 9509 total posts
Name:
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
Posted by SweetestOfPeas
Posted by lululu
Posted by SweetestOfPeas
Posted by My2Boys
Even in this market, 20% below asking is an insult, IMO (unless the house is grossly overpriced). Good luck!
why is it an insult?
This is how i feel and this is only my opinion. As a seller - if you were willing to take 20% below ask, you would lower your asking price. So for someone to offer that much less than what you are asking you just feel like they are not serious buyers and they are wasting your time. Sellers know the market too, and they price it where they do for a reason. A house that is grossly overpriced to the point where 20% less would be a more appropriate price does not have a motivated seller and would still not consider an offer that low. You would have to get very lucky for a seller to consider an offer 20% less.
as I understand it, sellers put their house on the market with some room to negotiate. this is not a new concept. some list it for a lot more room than others. (IMO anyway) in this "new" market though, there is a reason why so many houses are sitting. and I highly doubt that it's all because of baby boomers trying to fund their retirement.
the buyers and sellers are at an impasse. so a lot of houses are sitting.
I totally agree, but if the seller hasnt lowered the price significantly - they still wont want to hear a bid 20% lower than their asking. When they become more motivated, they will lower the price...... I wouldnt say dont try it, you may get lucky, but personally i wouldnt have taken a bid that low seriously because my thought would be - they can't afford it. When I became motivated as a seller, i lowered my price, and got bids within 7% of my ask. Prior to that, I dont think i would have heard any bids 20% lower because i wasn't motivated enough to drop my price that low. the market is definitely slow right now, but things are still selling when they are priced appropriately.
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| Posted 7/11/06 1:52 PM |
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SweetestOfPeas
J'taime Paris!
Member since 3/06 32345 total posts
Name:
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
Posted by lululu
Posted by SweetestOfPeas
Posted by lululu
Posted by SweetestOfPeas
Posted by My2Boys
Even in this market, 20% below asking is an insult, IMO (unless the house is grossly overpriced). Good luck!
why is it an insult?
This is how i feel and this is only my opinion. As a seller - if you were willing to take 20% below ask, you would lower your asking price. So for someone to offer that much less than what you are asking you just feel like they are not serious buyers and they are wasting your time. Sellers know the market too, and they price it where they do for a reason. A house that is grossly overpriced to the point where 20% less would be a more appropriate price does not have a motivated seller and would still not consider an offer that low. You would have to get very lucky for a seller to consider an offer 20% less.
as I understand it, sellers put their house on the market with some room to negotiate. this is not a new concept. some list it for a lot more room than others. (IMO anyway) in this "new" market though, there is a reason why so many houses are sitting. and I highly doubt that it's all because of baby boomers trying to fund their retirement.
the buyers and sellers are at an impasse. so a lot of houses are sitting.
I totally agree, but if the seller hasnt lowered the price significantly - they still wont want to hear a bid 20% lower than their asking. When they become more motivated, they will lower the price...... I wouldnt say dont try it, you may get lucky, but personally i wouldnt have taken a bid that low seriously because my thought would be - they can't afford it. When I became motivated as a seller, i lowered my price, and got bids within 7% of my ask. Prior to that, I dont think i would have heard any bids 20% lower because i wasn't motivated enough to drop my price that low. the market is definitely slow right now, but things are still selling when they are priced appropriately.
I agree - things that are priced to sell are in fact selling. but there is a huge problem out there with all these houses that have been sitting for so long. the sellers need a reality check!
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| Posted 7/11/06 2:09 PM |
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lululu
LIF Adult
Member since 7/05 9509 total posts
Name:
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
Well - mine was probably priced a tiny bit on the high side given the market. Not much, i know this because a unit almost exactly the same (a little less nice) in my building sold for my asking price a month earlier. I wasnt motivated though because we had just bought a house and we were doing rennovations and didnt want to be out too soon. Once we were ready to go, we lowered the price and it sold (i hope it sold - we are still in contract!). But everyone has their reasons and I feel like sellers are fully aware that if their house has been on the market for months and they dont lower their price they arent going to even get offers. I mean, they would have to know this right? Maybe i am giving people too much credit.
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| Posted 7/11/06 2:13 PM |
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SweetestOfPeas
J'taime Paris!
Member since 3/06 32345 total posts
Name:
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
Posted by lululu
Well - mine was probably priced a tiny bit on the high side given the market. Not much, i know this because a unit almost exactly the same (a little less nice) in my building sold for my asking price a month earlier. I wasnt motivated though because we had just bought a house and we were doing rennovations and didnt want to be out too soon. Once we were ready to go, we lowered the price and it sold (i hope it sold - we are still in contract!). But everyone has their reasons and I feel like sellers are fully aware that if their house has been on the market for months and they dont lower their price they arent going to even get offers. I mean, they would have to know this right? Maybe i am giving people too much credit.
I think sellers are afraid to lower the price in some cases.
Take my ex boss for instance…
She put her house on the market for $439K (in Medford, the house is10 yrs old) in Jan ’06, very motivated, she was relocating for the company. She had zero offers fr 2 months. She then lowered it to $419K, zero offers. She had a very hard time lowering it to below $400K because now she’s thinking that people will totally low ball her. she did eventually sell it, for $369K. but in all that time she only had 2 offers.
I think that some sellers are afraid to lower the price. So offering low IMO is not a mistake (or an insult).
She bought the house 10 yrs ago for $170K brand new. How can it be insulting? She made more than double her $$ back.
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| Posted 7/11/06 2:28 PM |
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schnapy
LIF Adolescent
Member since 9/05 766 total posts
Name:
Diana
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
Posted by SweetestOfPeas
Posted by lululu
Well - mine was probably priced a tiny bit on the high side given the market. Not much, i know this because a unit almost exactly the same (a little less nice) in my building sold for my asking price a month earlier. I wasnt motivated though because we had just bought a house and we were doing rennovations and didnt want to be out too soon. Once we were ready to go, we lowered the price and it sold (i hope it sold - we are still in contract!). But everyone has their reasons and I feel like sellers are fully aware that if their house has been on the market for months and they dont lower their price they arent going to even get offers. I mean, they would have to know this right? Maybe i am giving people too much credit.
I think sellers are afraid to lower the price in some cases.
Take my ex boss for instance…
She put her house on the market for $439K (in Medford, the house is10 yrs old) in Jan ’06, very motivated, she was relocating for the company. She had zero offers fr 2 months. She then lowered it to $419K, zero offers. She had a very hard time lowering it to below $400K because now she’s thinking that people will totally low ball her. she did eventually sell it, for $369K. but in all that time she only had 2 offers.
I think that some sellers are afraid to lower the price. So offering low IMO is not a mistake (or an insult).
She bought the house 10 yrs ago for $170K brand new. How can it be insulting? She made more than double her $$ back.
THERE IS NOTING WRONG WITH LOW BALLING BUT WHEN A HOUSE IS NEW ON THE MARKET BE CAREFUL. SOME AGENTS WILL NOT ENTERTAIN THE OFFER SO THEREFORE THEY WONT EVEN SUBMITT IT.
I WENT TO SEE A HOUSE RECENTLY THATS ON THE MARKET SINCE FEB 06 THEY WANT 470 BUT THE HOUSE NEEDS TO BE GUTTED HEAD TO TOE, I OFFERED $370, MY AGENT SAID THEY ARE NOT NEGOTIATING AT ALL THEY ARE FIRM. I SAID TRACK IT FOR ME AND I WILL ALSO AND IF ANY MOVEMENT HAPPENS LET ME KNOW.
IN THAT INSTANCE I CAN SEE LOW BALLING.. I WAS HOPIJNG TO SETTLE AT $400K
WE LOW BALLED OUR CURRENT HOUSE ALSO AND THEY REFUSED I TOLD THE AGENT SAME THING TO CALL ME WHEN THEY WERE SERIOUS TO SELL THEY DID 2 MONTHS LATER AND WE SETTLED ON A PRICE. JUST BE CAREFUL
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| Posted 7/11/06 2:32 PM |
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lululu
LIF Adult
Member since 7/05 9509 total posts
Name:
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
I see what you are saying - personally nothing like this would ever be an "insult" to me. It's business - no one should take it personally.
However, as a seller you want a serious buyer and depending on how low the offer is, i might think that the person is just playing games (which i had a few people do).
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| Posted 7/11/06 2:36 PM |
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2kids2cats
My babies
Member since 6/05 5229 total posts
Name:
f
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
We are getting our home for $20,000 less than the reduced asking price and that was our first bid. It's $35,000 less than their original price. You have nothing to lose, it all depends on the seller's situation. Good luck!
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| Posted 7/11/06 2:36 PM |
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SweetestOfPeas
J'taime Paris!
Member since 3/06 32345 total posts
Name:
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
Posted by schnapy
Posted by SweetestOfPeas
Posted by lululu
Well - mine was probably priced a tiny bit on the high side given the market. Not much, i know this because a unit almost exactly the same (a little less nice) in my building sold for my asking price a month earlier. I wasnt motivated though because we had just bought a house and we were doing rennovations and didnt want to be out too soon. Once we were ready to go, we lowered the price and it sold (i hope it sold - we are still in contract!). But everyone has their reasons and I feel like sellers are fully aware that if their house has been on the market for months and they dont lower their price they arent going to even get offers. I mean, they would have to know this right? Maybe i am giving people too much credit.
I think sellers are afraid to lower the price in some cases.
Take my ex boss for instance…
She put her house on the market for $439K (in Medford, the house is10 yrs old) in Jan ’06, very motivated, she was relocating for the company. She had zero offers fr 2 months. She then lowered it to $419K, zero offers. She had a very hard time lowering it to below $400K because now she’s thinking that people will totally low ball her. she did eventually sell it, for $369K. but in all that time she only had 2 offers.
I think that some sellers are afraid to lower the price. So offering low IMO is not a mistake (or an insult).
She bought the house 10 yrs ago for $170K brand new. How can it be insulting? She made more than double her $$ back.
THERE IS NOTING WRONG WITH LOW BALLING BUT WHEN A HOUSE IS NEW ON THE MARKET BE CAREFUL. SOME AGENTS WILL NOT ENTERTAIN THE OFFER SO THEREFORE THEY WONT EVEN SUBMITT IT.
I WENT TO SEE A HOUSE RECENTLY THATS ON THE MARKET SINCE FEB 06 THEY WANT 470 BUT THE HOUSE NEEDS TO BE GUTTED HEAD TO TOE, I OFFERED $370, MY AGENT SAID THEY ARE NOT NEGOTIATING AT ALL THEY ARE FIRM. I SAID TRACK IT FOR ME AND I WILL ALSO AND IF ANY MOVEMENT HAPPENS LET ME KNOW.
IN THAT INSTANCE I CAN SEE LOW BALLING.. I WAS HOPIJNG TO SETTLE AT $400K
WE LOW BALLED OUR CURRENT HOUSE ALSO AND THEY REFUSED I TOLD THE AGENT SAME THING TO CALL ME WHEN THEY WERE SERIOUS TO SELL THEY DID 2 MONTHS LATER AND WE SETTLED ON A PRICE. JUST BE CAREFUL
don't agents have to submit the offer regardless?
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| Posted 7/11/06 2:37 PM |
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lululu
LIF Adult
Member since 7/05 9509 total posts
Name:
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
I told my realtor that they didnt have to tell me about any offers below X amount because i wasnt willing to negotiate below a certain level. I think that you go into thinking you will meet the person halfway so if the offer is too low and i know i wont meet halfway, i dont want to waste my time..... that was just me though.
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| Posted 7/11/06 2:40 PM |
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SweetestOfPeas
J'taime Paris!
Member since 3/06 32345 total posts
Name:
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
Posted by lululu
I told my realtor that they didnt have to tell me about any offers below X amount because i wasnt willing to negotiate below a certain level. I think that you go into thinking you will meet the person halfway so if the offer is too low and i know i wont meet halfway, i dont want to waste my time..... that was just me though.
yea, I guess that makes sense. that happened to us on a few properties that we MIGHT have made offers on.
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| Posted 7/11/06 2:42 PM |
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SweetTooth
I'm a tired mommy!
Member since 12/05 20105 total posts
Name:
Lauren
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Re: Asking price vs. your bid
Posted by Hi-Fi55
Oh Lauren, are you buying my dear???
We are thinking about it. This 20% thing was told to me by my parents and people in their generation who bought their houses many years ago, so this could be an outdated piece of advice. Its interesting to see all the responses though! Thanks for all your input!
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| Posted 7/11/06 2:45 PM |
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