How To Know You’re Getting A Good Price

Making an offer on a home can feel like pulling numbers out of a hat.  And selling's no easier. The stakes are so high, and the market's so tough that you want to take any offer you can get, but at the same time, it's difficult to know whether you're leaving money on the table when you do finally sign on the dotted line.

Buyer's remorse often arises as soon as you get the contract back with the seller's signature on it. The best way to manage the emotional side of both buyer's and seller's remorse is with information.

Selling

If you're selling your home, know what your own top priority is. Is it to move your home quickly, so you can buy at today's interest rates?  Is it to get every single dollar you can out of the house?  Is it just to divest the home and get closure as soon as possible, because you're struggling to keep up with the payments? What is a great deal to one buyer or seller may not be to another. So, the first step to knowing whether you're getting a good deal is to know what your own personal priorities for the transaction are.

Buying

Many buyers try to compare the end price of their home to the list price, or the price per square foot.  Comparing your negotiated price to the list price is interesting, but a big gap could indicate a number of things:  you could be getting a great deal, or the seller could be very unrealistic or motivated. Same on the seller's side - an over-asking price usually indicates an aggressively low list price and multiple offers from buyers.  If the list price is wildly different from the market value of the home, the list price-to-sale price gap may have nothing to do with getting a good deal, on either side.

Price-per-square-foot can be overly sensitive when you look at it on homes that are much smaller than larger than the homes to which you are comparing it.   A home could be 20 percent smaller than neighboring homes, but that doesn't mean it will be worth 20 percent less; it's still in the same neighborhood and may be in better condition.  Unless you're comparing very similar homes that are in very similar condition, price-per-square-foot can provide a misleading picture of a home's value

In today's real estate market, sometimes a "good deal" is simply one where the other side gives, even a little, to get you something that you want or need to make the deal work for you. For more information on the real estate process of buying or selling a home, contact our office.