Do-it-Yourself Price Reductions

“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

Approaching the holidays, many would-be home sellers are loath to take a price reduction, even if there’s abundant evidence that that’s overdue.

saleWhy?

They know that — with fewer Buyers active — the odds are high that it will go unnoticed . . . and therefore be wasted.

Or, if the price drop is noticed, Buyers will see it as a sign of desperation.

So, many such Sellers opt to simply wait until after New Year’s (and the first stretch of warm(er) weather — it IS Minnesota).

“Wait Till Next Year?” Not Necessarily

Fortunately for intrepid home buyers, there’s another way to find out if the asking price is soft.

Namely, by presenting such Sellers with an honest-to-goodness written offer, with an accommodating closing date, accompanied bird2by a decent earnest money check and a strong Pre-Approval Letter.

That is, as opposed to verbally sounding out the Seller about what “their real bottom line is,” and other amateurish nonsense.

As I tell my Buyer clients, this time of year, sometimes 9/10 of a bird in the hand (or even .85!) is enough.

See also, “Buyer’s Agent: ‘So, What’s the Seller’s Real Bottom Line??'”; and “Nurse! I Need a Price Reduction, Stat!!”

About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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