Lethbridge Real Estate - Good Offers VS Bad Offers

Posted August 14th, 2011 by Robert May

Good Offers VS Bad Offers

Last night I received an offer on a Lethbridge home for sale that I have listed. The list price on the property is about $250k and it has only been on the market since the start of the month. This is the 2nd offer we have received, with the first one being unsuccessful as the purchasers were unable to obtain suitable financing to make it work for them. They are still in the background, trying to hunt down financing, but for all purposes they are a lost cause on this particular deal.

20 years ago I sold these homes for around $80k, at the peak of the market

it sold for $242k, the current owner would like to sell it. Market value now

is around $210k. Not good since that is less than his mortgage balance!

When I first started in the Lethbridge real estate industry, almost 18 years ago, any offer that came in and was within about 5% of the list price was considered to be a decent starting price. At that time, sales prices were typically 2 to 3% off of list price for the majority of the properties listed by credible and active agents. (i say this because there were a few who were notorious for listing everything for much more that actual value and not ever having any sales).

Back then, we dealt often with multiple offers and offers of full price, and most listed homes were priced fairly and at 'market price'. Fast forward to now, most of the homes on our current MLS are overpriced. As a result, offers that are 10% or more from the list price are becoming common. Personally, I find this unacceptable and a sign of the general decline in the quality of the industry and the agents involved in it, but that is a rant I will save for another post. The point for this post is that it seems that any offer that is within 10% of list price is now considered an offer that is a 'good offer' and should be treated and negotiated as such.

What is considered a good offer in your market? Maybe any price? There are some sellers who would love to see ANY offer, so perhaps 10% isn't as bad as I think? What do you think?

Here are a few of my favorite past articles from my Lethbridge real estate and mortgage blog you might have missed or wish to recommend them to a friend.

Alberta Marketing - alberta marketing experts
Lethbridge SEO - ranking higher in search results
Lethbridge Marketing - Condo living is great for student but also for seniors!
Lethbridge Videos- Videos about life and business in Lethbridge
Lethbridge Blog - Some great deals on manufactured homes in Lethbridge
Lethbridge Homes for Sale - searching for Lethbridge real estate?

Lethbridge Real Estate - link to my site

lethbridge realtor

Robert May is a Realtor, as well as the broker and owner of Rainbow Realty of Lethbridge Alberta . He is also a licensed Lethbridge mortgage broker and financing expert with Canada First Mortgage of Calgary Alberta. He has been in the Lethbridge real estate industry since 1993 and offers full Lethbridge real estate services to Lethbridge and surrounding area, as well as Lethbridge mortgage financing, mortgage refinancing , preapprovals, and Lethbridge loans financing to Lethbridge and Southern Alberta. He can be found online at this link: mortgage broker Lethbridge

Let me share my 16+ years experience in the local Lethbridge real estate and financing market with you! It is the first step towards making a profitable real estate decision.