Reasons why this market is better

Posted on October 11, 2006 by Jim Duncan

1) Less pressure on buyers.
2) Buyers have time to consider spending a quarter of a million dollars. (and more and less)
3) Less greed.
4) Patience can be rewarded.
5) The madness has subsided.

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About Jim Duncan

A Charlottesville Realtor who tries to stay on the bleeding/cutting/functional edge of technology and real estate trends. I have been selling real estate for the past 10 years, lived in C'Ville for twenty+ and am married to one of few Charlottesville natives left.
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  • http://SanDiegoHomeBlog.com Kris Berg

    Jim, I agree with all but No. 4. Greed is alive and well in San Diego, perhaps more so in the current market. Buyers are generally not looking for a fair deal after thoughtful, patient consideration, but are looking for a smoking deal. They want to take the seller to the cleaners. That is greed in its most basic form.

    Here are the points a would-be buyer raised in a conversation I had with him just yesterday after I showed him one of our listings:
    1. How much will you give me if I let you represent me? I can walk into any real estate office in town and find an agent that will give me a good chunk of their commission.
    2. Tell the sellers that every month they stay on the market, their price will go down 1%, so they should consider my (below market) offer.
    3. Instead of wasting everyone’s time, ask them what their bottom line price is. Also, ask them how much they will credit me for closing costs, and (of course) how much of your commission I will be credited for the honor of representing me.
    Good negotiating or greed? I think the latter.

  • http://www.realcentralva.com Jim Duncan

    Kris -

    Thanks for the comment. You are right – the greed component has indeed shifted from seller to buyer. And so fast that heads are still spinning.

  • Andy

    Kris,
    Sorry but I totally disagree with you. That buyer you describe has every right to negotiate. Perhaps they were rude, and it sounds like they were, but what’s wrong with going after the best deal possible? The buyer runs the risk of losing the deal to someone else, that is all part of the game. This happens in international business all the time in a competitive market where procurement and contracts professionals negotiate for their companies benefit every day. Why should real estate agents and sellers be treated with kid gloves? Sorry, but the days of 6% commision are over, the business model is changing and real estate agents have to innovate like everyone else out there trying to make a buck!