Sandra Cummings Shoreline Blog

This is so true... there seems to always a but!

The media has the buyers head so full of you know what that no one wins.  Buyers with this mentality will find after a few of their lowball offers are laughed away that they are the true losers.  As they jerk sellers around while interest rates creep higher the buyer will pay dearly in the long run.

Hi Sandra, I had a lead call me regarding a HUD home. This person wanted to bid $130,000 less than what the bank was asking. Some buyers just don't understand.

OMG, Sandra....  I mean...I'd thought I'd heard it all but this?  WTH?  This one takes the bakery...

Geez...talk about alternate reality...

Hampton Roads has had a string of Real Estate related spots on the 600 news that are in sontridiction to whats going on.  Sometimes local news try to copy the national news but its not related to whats going on in the area.

I love the reaction from buyers that the seller really doen't need to be concerned with the issues the buyer has they just want to sell the property. You are so right about the media.

Hi Sandra,

Don't ya love it! Best of luck with your cute little listing, when they are priced right they do sell! :)

Good post. Sellers are not giving homes away and real estate agents need to make sure buyers understand a good price. BTW, like the title!

Judy - Not always, but definitely for these buyers. They have brought into the media hype. They believed that it was reasonable to expect the sellers to absorb the cost for the addition that they wished to built. Not going to happen.

Eugene- I agree!  There are too many buyers out there that just don't get it. They are listening to the media. My market is not California or Florida and we are just not seeing those kinds of reductions here. If you just want to look fine. If you want to buy a home, get yourself a real estate professional and learn the market...find out what homes are really selling for ...

Dan - You are so correct. I ran into another couple who want a home only in a certain area. They put offers in on 3 homes, lost all 3 due to their low bids, all 3 homes sold to other parties.Still have not learned that low balling homes are not working for them. They have been looking for over a year. In the mean time they continue to pay rent. By the time they finally figure out that this method is not working for them, more than likely interest rates will have bumped up.

Lisa - My thoughts exactly. But alas, I seem to be running into more and more buyers like this. They really need education.

Dee Dee - You bring up an excellent point. All real estate is local! State by State, Town by Town, some times even neighborhood by neighborhood.

Terry - The look on their faces! They were really shocked to hear the sellers already had received better and higher offers, which where not accepted. These were buyers who clearly did not understand this particular area, only knew they wanted to live in it.

Suzanne - It's what I live for : ) And there is no doubt in my mind the home will sell.

Gary - Glad you liked the title. Yes, buyers need to understand this. Which is why I think it is so very important for them to find themselves a good real estate professional to educate them on today's market conditions.

Sandra,

Very sound advise.....you get the impression at times that some people just want your attention.....you have to cut ties.

Sandra - You did it!  I know who I'd be calling if I was moving up that way:-)  You make stellar points and it's amazing what people 'buy into' these days, especially when they aren't really going to 'buy' anything at all.

When I need to buy a car, I call my Car Sales Person friend. For accounting, my Accountant friend. Buying a bike, my friend who owns a bike shop. Hmmmm.....I want to buy a house. Who should I call???????????? We work on getting buyers hooked up wih Realtors every day. The education of buyers from the Realtor end BEFORE they shop is of paramount importance in this market. When that happens, major low balls like this never occur. Nice Post!

My Sandra... I love that buyers are getting this kind of slap in the face. It's exactly what they deserve for listening to the deadbeats we call the media.

btw... I love your little open house rider. I'm getting one of those made. Never have seen one around here, usually it's just a separate sign in the yard.  

Now go write your poem.... 

 

Dan - Thank you. Too many buyers out there today are listening to the media, and going it alone. They truly believe they are in the best positions to negotiate the best price on a home. They have no idea what homes are selling for in the areas they are looking in and most of these buyers have been searching for a home for over a year waiting for the deal of a lifetime.

Jason - Thank you, your comment made me smile : )  As long as they keep buying into the media, all they are going to continue to do is pay rent.

My Jennifer - It was almost sad to see their faces, for they really believed the seller would go for it. That they were going to negotiate this great deal..That this is easy and we do not do our homework, that we do not keep our sellers informed regarding the value of their homes, changing market conditions, recent home sales that could effect the pricing of their home, current inventory. This is why buyers need a REALTOR

The open house sign I put up on Mondays before my open houses, for drive by traffic. I also have separate signs for the yard for the day of the open house. It is common to see this here.

 

 

Sandra, You said it all my dear friend. Sellers are not giving their homes away. I tell my buyers to try to put themselves in the sellers shoes as they are considering to make an offer.

Oh Sandra, I can feel your pain.  I have had buyers say the same thing to me.  Because they don't like the kitchen or they don't like the floor coverings, or they would need to add on, the sellers must be asking way too much for their home.  You are right, buyers do have very unrealistic ideas right now, they think every sellers is on the verge of foreclosure and they will give their homes away or buy them for the buyer just because the market is down.  I so hope as the year goes on the media finds something else to focus on.  Maybe after the preliminary elections are over and they can concentrate on tearing the candidates for president apart!

 

Sandra,

I totally agree that the media is killing real estate!  I got an offer on a new construction and it was $41,000 less that the listed price.  Give me a break!  People have the idea that it's a buyers market and they can get everything cheap! 

Hi Sandra:

I think that alot of buyers feel at all homes should go at foreclosure prices or lower. But you  also made an interesting comment about investors being in the market right now.  We are starting to see them here in Asheville. Now is a great time to buy, and these are the folks who usually will bring a decent offer to the table.

Buyers think they can get away with anything these days. Some buyers like to make ridiculous verbal offers. It's a type of hobby for them.

Oh man, this is such a relief to hear everyone talking about this. I have several buyers that are either waiting for the other shoe to drop ( thanks to the media ) or want to insult the sellers with low offers. I have went ahead and tried to explain the market, that it is not the Depression era soup lines that they think it is, but it usually goes in one ear and out the other.

BTW, I forgot to say that there was a video on the yahoo web page today about homes having to be traded instead of sold, goes right to the point of what everyone here is talking about, the media is killing the attitude of the buying public.

Mana - You are correct! Sellers are not giving away their homes. And it is not so much buyers putting themselves in the seller's shoes, it's about educating the buyer about what the current market conditions are. If homes in an area have been recently selling in the $350 range you are not going to pick it up at $250, it's just plain common sense.

Sandra - I don't know how your market is, but here I'm seeing more and more buyers searching for homes. My only hope is they will finally figure out that the current way they are trying to purchase a home is not working for them and hire a REALTOR.

Mary - Like it or not, it is a buyer's market. Inventory is up and closings are down. Buyers do have a lot more homes to choose from than a few years ago, but sellers are not giving away the store.

Bill - Yes, the investors are starting to come back, which is always a good sign.

Wayne - I understand that, however I seem to be running into more and more buyers who have been searching for a home for a very long time, believing the media that all sellers are in trouble and the housing market in crashing. Low balling offers and then they can't understand why their offers are not taken seriously.

Patrick - I feel you pain : ) All I can suggest is keep hitting then with the data and after they lose a few homes that they love maybe they will get it.  Good luck.

 

Patrick - Thank you for the heads up... I will go take a look at it.

Great post.  Unfortunately, the media does impact our profession negatively.  The buyer's really do need a lesson that only a REALTOR can teach.

Sandra, this couple are not the only ones with this attitude.  Everybody thinks they can get a steal, even those who are selling a house and trying to purchase another one.  But when it comes to their house, you the best house on the block, they are unwilling to budge.

AMEN !!!   I 1000% agree with this quote from your post :  The media is killing the real estate market.

Latonia - You are so right. Buyers need to educate themselves on their local market and with the current market conditions the services of a Realtor are more valuable than ever.

Hi George - lol...that could be the subject of a whole other post!

Sandra - Do you ever get the feeling there are stranger people looking for homes when the market is weaker? You certainly run into all types in this business.

Christine - The media certainly is not helping, all real estate is local and what is happening in other areas of the country is not happening here. However, buyers only want to hear what they want to hear.

Bill - Yes we run into all types...maybe your theory is right and it's the market that is bringing them out. : )

I just had this happen this week.  I had shown a great house a couple of weeks ago to a couple that has several children.  They said they needed to find something fast because they had already sold their home and had to get into another.  This home is listed for $160,000...has a pool...little over 3000 sq. ft.  They loved the house,,,there were only a couple of concerns...they would give me a call.  We kept in touch, they had a few questions and finally two weeks later I get a call stating they wish to make an offer....$60,000 below the list price....the reason why?  The house needs painting (interior) and new carpeting...oh and there is a small corner in the master bedroom that they are concerned about a foundation problem.  Even with all of those concerns they don't add up to $60,000 below the list price. 

Sandra - Well, we are not too far away here in Dutchess County and i can tell you, I have had the same types of situations where a buyer tallies up their wish list and expects the seller to have to pick up the tab or take a loss equal to their desires. I had a situation like this just recently - maybe it's the same buyer. I have to wonder - what the heck are these buyer's agents doing? Aren't they educating the buyers and helping them understand the value? Don't they share comps so the buyers know where to begin negotiating and for what reasons things should be negotaited?

Carolyn - I hear you. And on the flip side of this, if someone had offered $60k less on their home, they would have been insulted! It just seems like buyers are pulling numbers out of thin air and then expect sellers to jump on them.

Carol - Same buyer scary thought : )  I think buyer's agents are sharing the comps and it is a case of buyers not liking what they hear. "The old throw it against the wall and see if it sticks". Sometimes, they need to lose a few homes before they come to the realty that low balling a home just does not work.

Sandra - You are absolutely correct with this ... the media is doing us a disservice and I think is almost pushing the economy closer and closer to the brink of disaster ... singlehandedly!  I can't tell you how many low offers I have been forced to make on behalf of a client that I knew didn't stand a prayer ... probably the same number as the rest of my colleagues on here, actually.

Derek - Yes the media is. I don't know how the market is in your area...Here the market is down 6% from last year, and we have an inventory of 7 months. However, the sale to list price ratio is 94%. Does this sound like sellers in our area are accepting low offers? My sellers are fully aware of the above figures and are not expecting their home to sell in a month. Maybe I should update my post to include these figures, maybe it will educate some buyer as to the true market conditions.

 

Sandra-As a REALTOR® we must take all offers to a seller if we are the buyer's agent. I try to persuade the buyer's to make at least a realistic offer. Many buyers are out there "looking for that bargain of a lifetime" and have insisted that I send the offer as a unrealistic lowball and, of course, I either get a "You gotta be kidding" type response from the seller's agent or no response at all. "And the beat goes on".

 

Sandra - Our market (Southeastern Michigan) is MUCH more depressed then that ... prices down about 25% over the last 24 months by most indicators.  Thus, if Buyers aren't going to buy now ... then when?!  Also, we have about 18 months worth of inventory in most places.

Shirley - As a buyer's agent of course you have do as directed by your client, and I'm sure when you run across buyers "looking for the bargain of a lifetime" you have provided them with comps in the area to educate them in regard to your local market. But in the end they make the decision, we both know this. Usually, when they have lost a couple of homes they start listening to their REALTOR. And I agree most buyers are not like this.

Derek...See this is exactly what I'm talking about. The media lumps every market together. And what is true for your market might not be true for mine. The consumer believes that every market is horrible and expects sellers to be thankful for any offer they receive. Just isn't happening here.

 

Sandra

This is why pre-qualifying a buyer is so important and having the buyers realize that you will help them make an offer based on the market value in the area. Knocking off 5-10% is a norm around here although many of the homes in the area's are selling at about 95-97% of asking price.

You are right that the media is destroying the market.  I have buyers offering 40% off list price.  No matter what I tell them, they think Dateline knows more

I find that a lot of buyers of today have no idea what to believe or what they may or may not qualify for so they are thinking they gotta go with the low end.... nice post my friend

Beautifully said Sandra! I've seen this going on since October with my listings and although here in Utah it is a buyers market, that doesn't mean people are giving away their homes that don't have to. There is truly so much mixed information out there right now that for the most part, every buyer I'm working with is in the worlds greatest fear. Have a wonderful week!

Gary - You are so right. Helping buyers get pre-approved and looking in the correct price range are just two reasons consumers should use a Realtor to help them in their search for a new home. You state offers of 5-10% are common and that homes are selling for 95-97% of list price. Doesn't sound like low offers work in your area either.

Joe - Dataline....lol..I like that one. Somedays it feels like I'm banging my head against the wall.

Thesa - I hear you. Buyers are so afraid to overpay and I understand that. However when the data doe not support what the media is telling them confusion reigns. When a buyer can't understand why a seller won't even counter a low offer. Buyers need to educate themselves. They need to hire a REALTOR and more than that they need to listen to what their REALTOR is telling them.

Julie - I hope you have a wonderful week too!

 

 

Sandra,

There are some very unrealistic expectations out there, but after ridiculous offers are turned down time and time again, buyers will realize that IF they are serious they must get serious!

Hi Sandra - Over the years I have heard it all, too.  A classic example is that of a buyer who came through my open house a few years back. As he walked through the home with me, he pointed out all the little things and the big things, and the decorating, etc.  A couple days later, an offer came in from this buyer through another agent (he answered "no" to my question about being under contract with an agent), the offer was $40,000 under asking price.  My seller rejected the offer, she didn't want to counter.  A couple of weeks later, another offer came in from this buyer, $12,000 higher.  My seller said no again.  We had this listing well priced, and the seller was not under pressure to sell.  Another week went by, and the third offer came in.  This time, the price was within $10,000 or the asking price.  We negotiated a little, and it was sold.  Some buyers need to experience this process, and sometimes they'll loose out on a great home when they believe everything they hear from media.

Diane - What a catchy phase. I love it "If they are serious they must get serious! Could not have put it any better.

Mazena - I guess that buyer really wanted that house : )  There seems to be a large misconception that all sellers must sell, and yes some buyers will loose out on a great home until they realize not to believe everything they hear from the media. Great example.

And oh....now that the nice weather is just around the corner I bet you will see more Sunday afternoon drive-by's.  :)

Sandra,

Good post!  The media is killing the market.  Buyers are looking to steal the home.  There are such great buys out there and what I am seeing is buyers looking to steal the homes not buy them.  I believe the market is finished going down.  Buyers are going to have to become realistic.  Soon, I hope!

Melissa - The buyers have definitely out there and I'm sure as the weather gets warmer we will see an increase in activity.

Cherly - There are many great buys on the market now. Which is why a buyer should hire a real estate professional to do the market research for them so they can put together a good offer. Low ball offers are just not working in my market.

I would love to add to the "get a REALTOR" part that you should get a REALTOR and LISTEN to what they are saying.  It's all fun and games until you lose the house of your dreams.

I turned down an "investor" (word used loosely) because he wants to run around and lowball in a market with only 4 months of inventory.  He called my broker because he couldn't imagine WHY I would turn him down, even though he was told by me over and over why.  I am not a tour guide, plain and simple.  He would NOT listen to me, he schooled me on how our market is still going down (whatever) and he knows everything.  Why would he even need a REALTOR?

Hi Renee - So true, so true...I have had a couple of those buyers myself....They went and got themselves a REALTOR (me)...but do not want to listen that a seller will not take tens of thousands less based on their feeling that the market will go lower.

Wow Sandra you really got the conversation going with this one - good for you!  I am with ya

Thesa - Yeah...every once in awhile it happens : )

Excellent post.  I feel almost apologetic when I have to pass those offers on to the sellers.  By being so silly, some buyers are really missing out on great opportunities.

Janice - Yes they are. I always hope that when they lose out on a couple of homes they learn. However once in a while I run into buyers who have been looking for years, hoping to time the market perfectly and going around low balling homes. Mean while interest rates are increasing and the lending guidelines have gotten stricter. What are they really saving?