Chino Hills Real Estate Blog : Seller Tip

Seller Tip - What Offer to Accept

Talking Points

Most real estate professionals agree that the first offer sellers receive on their home is usually the best offer. Of course, this isn’t true in every situation, but there are reasons why agents believe this, and why they often suggest that sellers either accept the first offer or at least give it serious consideration.

Buyers in the real estate market usually start off slowly by going to a few open houses, checking out prices online, and doing their homework. They may even make first contact with an agent to assess what the agent thinks about the state of the local market.

From there, the buyers begin to get more serious. They may start going on private, second or third showings with their agent and become a “real dealer” – a buyer who is completely in the game, approved for a mortgage, and actively engaged with their mortgage lender or broker. Real dealers are often the ones who write the first offer a seller receives on a property, and that’s why their offers should be taken seriously.

An offer from a real dealer may not come in within days of a property going on the market. But it will come from an informed buyer who is knowledgeable of the market. If a home is priced too high and a month or two goes by without an offer, it will be the real deal buyer who has been watching the listing and waiting to see how the market responds. If the buyer notes that there aren’t any offers on it and there is no activity after some time, the real dealer will come in with a low offer, which actually may be a good offer, on the seller’s home.

While sellers may see a low offer as “insulting” and coming out of left field, the seller should still look at this offer closely and investigate who the buyer is, how long they have been looking, ask whether they’ve written other offers nearby, determine if they are working with a good local agent, and ask if the offer comes with a pre-approval letter.

As hard as it may be for a seller to contemplate an offer much lower than their asking price, serious sellers should look at all the signs leading up to it and consider if this is the offer to accept.