real estate market

Home Buying Negotiating Tips

When it comes to buying a home, the ability and willingness to negotiate is a must for both the buyer and seller. In general, sellers ask for more than they are actually willing to accept and buyers offer less than they are willing to pay. The trick is to find the perfect balance so you, as a buyer, feel good about the purchase price without leaving the seller feeling insulted.

Real estate is a business that either favors the buyer or seller, hence the terms buyer’s market and seller’s market. When negotiating a purchase price, it’s important to know which of the two you are in. As the buyer, you will have the best chance at a successful negotiation if you research the price of other comparable homes in the area before making an offer.

Not every offer is accepted, so don’t be disheartened if your first offer isn’t a winner. In some cases, the seller will make a counteroffer for your consideration. Have you ever heard the old saying, “never take the first offer?” The same is true in real estate, and almost every seller knows it. Your first offer is likely to be less than you are actually willing to pay, which leaves you some bargaining room.

There are a number of reasons why a seller may choose to reject an offer, including a feeling that the offer was just too low, the house is newly listed on the market or another offer may be higher than the one you made. In some cases, sellers may also reject an offer that includes owner financing or other requests that are impossible to meet. One example may be an offer that requires the house be available within a certain amount of time. Most contracts require that the seller move out within 30 days, but anything less would require negotiation.

Before you sign anything relating to a real estate transaction, make sure you read over every detail of the agreement. If you have any questions, ask your real estate agent. After all, real estate is their business and they are there to help you through every step.

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Home and Commercial Inspections in the Columbia SC area is our specialty! Every year we help hundreds of clients save tens of thousands of dollars, by responsibly finding and exposing conditions that threaten property, value and safety. To learn how we may be able to serve you, please click and read, or call 803-261-5810.

Housing Market Continues To Take A Pounding

As new indicators on the languishing national housing market continue to stream in it remains apparent that the crisis brought about by the bursting of the housing bubble is far from over. Newly released figures reveal that the prices of houses declined with greater speed during the opening quarter of this year than at any point since the most severe consequences of the crisis became evident. This is based on information released in the Real Estate Market Report which has been made available by Zillow.

It has been predicted that the lowest point in the housing market decline will not be reached until 2012 at the earliest. If that’s the case, the process of full recovery will take a period of quite a few years. Zillow’s Home Value Index decreased to just under $170K, a drop of 3% compared to the 4th quarter of 2009. The company’s index explains the average valuation for a designated geographic location on a designated day. It incorporates the value of all condominiums, cooperatives and single-family homes. Information relevant to mortgages and home loans are generally noted in each county and is publicly accessible via a county recorder’s office.

To better understand the magnitude of the decline in the housing market, consider this: The prices of homes have, on average, decreased by just slightly less than 30 percent from the height of the peak in June 2006. That figure represents a massive hit for most homeowners in America.

Given the fact that the decline has shown no signs of slowing down during the first quarter of the year, it is overly optimistic to expect any stabilization in home prices by the end of this year. Only a small number of markets did not experience home value decreases this past quarter. The overwhelming majority of housing markets in the study (ninety-seven percent) faced decreasing values.

In light of this kind of news, it becomes increasingly clear that many Americans will require honest and authoritative assistance with loan modifications in the next few years. The burden that many are under in the present economic climate makes it simply impossible to meet existing mortgage obligations.

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Home and Commercial Inspections in the Columbia SC area is our specialty! Every year we help hundreds of clients save tens of thousands of dollars, by responsibly finding and exposing conditions that threaten property, value and safety. To learn how we may be able to serve you, please click and read, or call 803-261-5810.