If you have had your home listed for at least 90 days and are priced right, then chances are that you have already received a low ball offer.  Why is this happening?

Currently we are in a declining market and the amount of decline in each neighborhood has varies.  Neighborhoods with high investor activity and a high amount of adjustable mortgages have suffered the most.   If for instance, the sales prices for comparable condos have gone from $500,000 to $410,000 in the last 18 months, then that means that $90,000 has been the decline or $5000 per month.  Since sales have decreased and inventories increased, then it looks like that neighborood is still in decline.   If the last sale was $410,000 this month, and you are asking $410,000, logic would say that a buyer should be willing to pay $410,000 for your unit.   However, the mentality of the buyers right now is that if they buy your unit for $410,000 and values are decreasing $5000 per month, then in 6 months they will have lost $30,000.     If they are putting 10% down, then in 6 months they will have lost almost all of their down payment. 

What is the lesson to be learned by Sellers?   When pricing your home, you must expect offers approximately 10% - 15% below the most recent sale in your neighborhood because buyers are looking to purchase the property for what it will be worth 6-9 months from now.  If you want to have any chance of selling your home, then you must price it 5-10% below the most recent sale.  

A lot of homeowners have told us that they need to sell, but they won't give the property away and pricing it 10% below the most recent sale feels like a give away.   The problem is that in today's marketplace, there are too many foreclosures and too many people who are willing to give it away that unless a homeowner is willing to join these two groups, the short term chances of selling are not realistic.