Buyer Tips in a Buyer’s Market. This is the first in a series of articles that will give buyers insight into the mind of a seller and their agent. After hundreds of transactions as a buyer’s agent, I’ve recognized some common patterns, and I’ve decided to share these patterns with my readers who are primarily buyers. The purpose of this first article is to make you as a buyer aware of the importance of what I will share about sellers and their agents and how you can benefit, sometimes by $10,000 to $70,000. But the benefits to you are far more than just money, although that would be reason enough to know these things in a buyer’s market.
It is a Buyer’s Market
A significant number of sellers and their agents are repeatedly making the same mistakes, and if you are aware of these mistakes in this buyer’s market, you can take advantage of them. Sellers are experiencing a lot of pain right now. Many are having to sell their homes at losses or for so much less than they had hoped. And many more sellers are frustrated that their homes have been listed for sale for one or two or three years and still have not sold. This is a critical time for sellers. They are under great financial stress, and many absolutely must get their homes sold.
Clearly, sellers must have listing agents who are extremely good at three things in a buyer’s market: marketing the listed home for sale (using the right technology, advertising, photos, and videos), persuasive sales (written and verbal), and negotiating the price and terms. It is a sad fact in reality that many sellers do not have agents who are extremely good in all of these areas. It is especially unfortunate, because the sellers are the ones who lose out. I can almost guarantee that these sellers don’t even know why their homes haven’t sold or why that last offer blew up and the buyers walked away. Some think they know, but they don’t. After 30 years of getting inside buyer’s and seller’s heads, I have a pretty good idea of how the conversations go between sellers and their listing agents.
Buyer’s Market and Sellers
By the way, you might wonder why I don’t share these things with sellers if I can help them. The answer is I primarily represent buyers, but in addition to that sellers are not asking me. I find it fascinating that buyers are using the Internet extensively but sellers are not. Buyers are doing their due diligence in their research for their next home and who they hire as their buyer’s agent, but sellers are not doing research on their listing agents or how their homes should be marketed or the huge negotiating mistakes that are being made. If I am correct about this, and I am, it becomes even more incumbent upon sellers to carefully choose a listing agent who is knowledgeable, competent, experienced, professional, and trustworthy. But I can say with some confidence that the vast majority of sellers simply don’t know how to select an agent. They just assume the agent they call has all these qualities.
Buyer’s Market and Agency
I represent a select number of selling clients, but even then I never act as a dual agent for a buyer and seller. Read more about why I only represent one client at a time and how buyers get the short end of the bargain in Dual Agency. Not everything I share about how sellers and their agents think will help you negotiate a better price in a buyer’s market, but if you as a buyer have a better understanding of what is going on with sellers and their agents, you will be far more likely to get the better end of the negotiations. I want you to win your negotiation on both price and terms and end up in a far superior position against a seller.
Does this make sense? This is foundational thinking for the true stories I will share in this series. The next article will drill down on the important subject of negotiating mistakes and tips for buyers in a buyer’s market.
Last Updated on September 4, 2011 by Chuck Marunde
