This is one of the most important questions for a buyer who is ready to have me draft the offer. Not very many buyers have a lot of experience making offers on real estate, especially a half a million dollar home. The person who has never bought a home has no idea, and the person who has bought and sold half a dozen homes thinks they know. If you played high school basketball, you would never suggest you know how to play in the NBA. There is so much to consider when making an offer. Here are some of the variables, and you need a buyer’s agent who really understands all of these variables in the local market. The price you offer depends on:
The state of the local real estate market, the inventory and the demand.
For a market like Sequim, Washington, our buyers come from around the country, so the state of the real estate market in those other areas of the country will have a huge impact on the buyers coming to Sequim. If they can’t sell their homes, they aren’t buying in Sequim.
The homes at the top of the Bell Curve in Sequim will get the highest prices.
Location is big factor when it comes to price. Quiet, peaceful areas, and homes with great water views or panoramic mountain views will clearly demand higher prices.
The quality of the materials used in a home is another determinant of how much to offer.
The age of the home is a factor.
The floor plan is a factor.
How much natural light fills all the rooms is a factor.
The condition and size of the garage and whether there is a separate shop effects price.
The condition of the siding and the roofing are factors.
The landscaping is a major factor, because most Sequim buyers want nice landscaping that is also low maintenance.
Buyers coming to Sequim want single level homes, and stairs can reduce the price or kill a sale altogether.
How long the home has been on the market (DOM = days on market) effects the offering price.
How far the home is outside the Sequim Blue Hole can play a part in the negotiating.
How motivated the seller is will obviously affect what they are willing to do.
Whether there have been other offers previously is a factor.
Who the listing agent is will be a factor, especially if that agent has little experience or has not been properly trained (no matter how many years they’ve been in the business).
There are other factors, but you can see there is a lot involved in deciding what a “reasonable offering price” will be. You shouldn’t just shoot from the hip, and you can’t apply generic rules like, “homes sell for 94% of the listed price,” so let’s offer that. That’s a kindergartener approach to what should be a much more serious and professional approach to making an offer at a reasonable price that stands a chance of being accepted or at least countered.
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