It just happened that we bought a house on IH at the end of last year. I've been live in a rental place on the IH for past a year and half and I went to most of open houses during that time. There are two RE agencies who list the majority of re-sale properties on the IH. One is Cascade Team. I thought you are looking for someone who can represent your best interest and also who knows this market the best. I recommend Matt Jensen --the Cascade Team manager. He definitely knows the current market trend and the builders who build houses on the highland.

Good luck with your house hunt!

When you start making offers you will quickly find out how low you can go. Every Seller is different, unless you are working with new construction. (Then they are really different!)

Are you asking the Seller to pay any closing costs?

When you find the home you want, your agent will most likely run comps--with you right there, so you can see the date and know the facts-- and show you what a reasonable range is.

It all comes down to how much you want the home and how much the Seller wants to sell.

Make the offer that you want to make. The Seller can counter the offer if it isn't what they're looking for.

It was suggested in an earlier post that agents want to keep prices up. It really is not in an agent's best interests for prices to stay high or soar--then no one can afford to buy!

Also, it doesn't affect the commission that much to keep the price high. For instance, if you pay 400K for a home, my commission might be $8400. (Depending on what is offered to the Buyer's agent.) In the same scenario, if you pay 500K, my commission would be $10,500. So a $100,000 price difference makes a $2100 commission difference. (Please realize that this is just one instance--different agents have different splits. This is an average in my market.)

It is not worth the $2100 to act in bad faith. That is not why I'm in this business.

Woops! Got off the subject!

Best wishes! I hope you enjoy Washington State.

John,
As I am sure you are aware, this is a BUYERS market... which means... YOU, the buyer get to have the upper hand. That doesn't mean you can super low ball a seller, but believe me, a low offer to a seller is better than no offer at all.
Don't be shy, go for it. Don't worry about 10% or blank %, just do it!

John,

Please don't be mislead by answers form real estate sales guys here. The appropriate price is what the seller is willing to pay. Houses around here are not being sold like hotcakes anymore. There is "insult" to seller if you offer 10% less. Even if he feels so, do you care? There are plenty of other houses for sale out there. If you go to redfin.com and browse for houses in the area you can see that inventory is building like crazy. A lot of owners including builders have reduced prices by more than 10%. They would be very happy if they get any offer at all.


You should be mindful who you are asking advice for. It is in their best interest that RE agents give you this type of advice - not yours. They don't want prices to go down and not even want to give you a feeling that things are not right in the market

10% lower than list price would be an insult to a builder who has already tried to match the market with current pricing. If you want to live in a beautiful new home community you've got to come closer than that. Go to a model home and speak with a sales representative. You'll be surprised how much pertinent information you'll get on the builder's bottom line.

John,

If you are looking at new construction, builders will want the final sales price to be close to list price, however they are offering all sorts of incentives and special financing. If you are looking at resales, I have had recent buyers who have been able to offer 2 to 3% of list and we have had the offers accepted.

Inventory has gotten a little tighter in the last 30 days so price point will play a factor in determining how much room you'll have in negotiating.

There are many more factors involved not being your agent difficult for any realtor to make a statement. if you work positively in concert with your real estate agent I am assured you will have solutions to all of your questions resolved. Good luck http://www.lynn911.com

Keith, Steve, Larry & Kathy and Daniel – thank you!
We have several homes in mind in IH and will go see them when we fly out for a house hunting trip. I guess the general advice is to know the seller (builder or person) and the context (neighborhood, recent sale history etc.) to the degree possible…

John,

Are you looking for a specific home that you want to purchase, or are you just looking for a "good deal"? The answers below are good places to start, but remember that the best deal is the home that you actually want, and the value of a home is what the market will pay. As Steve mentions, you can't make a general statement like 10% below asking price, because if a home is priced at market value (what it really is worth), then it's okay to pay what they're asking. If on the other hand, a home is overpriced by 20% relative to what similar homes have sold for, then using your 10% number above will mean that you're overpaying for the home. The best comparables to use when determing the value of a home you're interested in, are the homes that have actually closed, not ones that are pending or currently on the market. A good buyer's agent will help you investigate this information, and advise you appropriately.

Best of luck!

-Daniel

Hi John, Welcome to Issaquah. I live in the old part of down town , and there is not a better place to live on the Eastside. About your question. It is definatly a buyers market in this area. Builders are discounting their asking prices buy large amounts. Usually these are in the form of financing help or upgrades. Any standing inventory that has been completed for several months should provide an excellent buyer opportunity. Resales are also under a lot of pressure to consider offers lower than asking price. Time on market is a good indicator of how flexable the seller might be. A good agent will be able to help you sort out the real bargin opportunities Again, welcome to the nieghborhood. I think you will like it here.

Larry

The answer to that question is always going to be relative to recent sales within the neighborhood, as well as the circumstances of the individual seller. For example, a relocation seller may be more willing to accept a lower price and move on. There's also the consideration of resale versus new construction. Builders are making concessions with surplus inventory whether it's a buyer's bonus, closing costs, lower price or all three. If you find the house you want you then need to establish the details behind the property before calculating what an offer might be. To say that you can offer 5 or 10% below asking would be too general when pricing is and should be very specific to the property.

John,

I own a home in Issaquah highlands and Issaquah highlands is still doing well over all. But it seems like the new construction is taking quite a bit less then there asking price. It all depends on the house your looking at. Some may be in the position to give 10% off there asking price others may not depending on when they buy. But I would get a trusted buyers agent on your side and see the comps and see what the fair market value is for the property. Then start your negotiations from there.