Buyers Need to Stop Getting Caught Up in List Prices

Buyers Need to Stop Getting Caught Up in List Prices

There are all kinds of buyers out there in the Northern Virginia real estate market. Some don't take the list price into account at all and bring in low-ball offers on every property they wish to pursue. Then there are those who have a mental block with list prices. Maybe they would offers $10,000 or $20,000 less on a home, but they are caught up in the actual sales price having to be the list price.

Don't let a list price stop you from making an offer on a home. I was speaking with a buyer the other day who had their eye on a listing for more than a month. The list price was the hold up, the impediment to putting together an offer. I asked the buyer if they would be upset if another buyer came along and got the home for $10,000 or $15,000 less than list price. I also conveyed if the answer to that question was yes, there was no reason to NOT make the offer. The worst the seller is going to do is say no. The buyer is already assuming that by not making the offer!

List prices are suggestions. Obviously, a good game plan when it comes to making an offer is having your agent run comparable sales and figure out what the most probably sales price of the home will be. That can be very helpful in determining where to start the negotiations. Of course, there are no negotiations if you don't start the conversation with an offer.