Hi Keith,

I am so excited for you. There are so many sellers in this market that are anxious just to have an offer to begin with. You have an offer. So, you’re doing something right in your marketing and presentation of the unit. Congrats!

Let me say this: Not knowing your market, but based on the information you provided, the offer sounds fair, at least at the surface because you are not too far apart in terms of what the buyer wants to pay and what you may want to net. Unfortunately though, what you want to net can be upsetting if you have unrealistic expectations of the market. As was previous stated, buyers want to see value in their purchase.

For all intents and purposes, the buyer sets the markets with their highest and best price on any given property, assuming it appraises when a buyer intends to finance with a mortgage.

This week alone, I submitted two offers on two different properties for two different clients. Both of my clients, I represent the buying side, offered 30-55k less than the seller's asking price, but we submitted comparable to support our offers. Without the comps, it is difficult, I think, to be persuasive.

Sellers sometimes make the mistake of dismissing their first offer because they perceive it to be low when in actuality; your best offer in some cases comes from your first interested party or early into your marketing.

Not sure what stage you are at, but keep in mind, that if you are buying something at the same time, you have an opportunity to buy something that would have costs more only a few years ago.

I hope that helps!

Keith,

What you fail to mention is the complex.and its comparables . . . are u referring to Grennbiar or Holiday City (my guess is Holiday City). In today's adult community market, espceally in Holiday City, u r fortunate to have an offer when u conder that ther are some 300+ prooperites available in Holiday City alone, not to mention the offerings in Manchester and Brick. (that is most prefereable due to its proximity to the GSP).

While I always hesitate to say that it is a buyers market in NJ, most certaiknly it is a buyers market in Holiday City. Don't lose these deal to some for sale by owner that won't qualbe over $5k.

Love and Peace,
Francesca, ePro, SRES
722.606.2931 (DIRECT: 24/7)

An offer is an offer. In today's market, the buyer is looking for value. If this is the only offer you have gotten then that is what this buyer has perceived as its value. And it very well may be it. If the value was higher than you would have gotten better.
You can use all the statistics you want, (as previously mentioned), but it means nothing if that is the offer (or offers) you receive. It is especially prevalent in the adult community market in which not only are you competing with your neighbors but also the hundreds of available units from the developers who are giving out tremendous incentives on "new".
My opinion - take the money and run.
Good luck!!

Keith,

Based on the data below, supplied by the Monmouth-Ocean MLS, homes similar to yours are selling for 92.33% of list price. If 130k (net minus the concession) is 92.33% of your list price, then yes, it is fair.

Sales and Inventory Report
Category - AdultCommunity
Statistics for Entire MLS from 4/1/2009 - 3/31/2010
Counties:Ocean
Area:BERKELEY, TOMS RIVER TWP,
Price Range:130000,155000

Month Year Monthly
Sales Monthly
Volume Avg List $ Avg Sale $ Median Sold $ Avg DOM % Sold/List Current
Inventory Months
Inventory
April 2009 7 $982,500 $152,600 $140,357 $140,000 138 91.97% 109 15.57
May 2009 10 $1,399,000 $155,680 $139,900 $139,000 112 89.86% 109 10.90
June 2009 9 $1,280,000 $157,155 $142,222 $138,500 71 90.49% 101 11.22
July 2009 15 $2,149,000 $154,620 $143,266 $144,000 147 92.65% 101 6.73
August 2009 12 $1,684,900 $147,616 $140,408 $139,750 60 95.11% 99 8.25
September 2009 17 $2,379,500 $151,246 $139,970 $138,000 112 92.54% 102 6.00
October 2009 1 $145,000 $149,900 $145,000 $145,000 9 96.73% 108 108.00
November 2009 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% 108 N/A
December 2009 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% 108 N/A
January 2010 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% 108 N/A
February 2010 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% 108 N/A
March 2010 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% 108 N/A
Annual: 71 $10,019,900 $152,833 $141,125 $140,000 107 92.33% 106 17.91

Annual: 2009 - 2010 71 $10,019,900 $152,833 $141,125 $140,000 107 92.33% 106 17.91

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: The "Current Inventory" column(s) reflect the number of active(on market) listings on the 30th day of each month.
The "Months Inventory" column(s) value(s) equal "Current Inventory" divided by "Monthly Sales".
This reflects how many months it would take to sell out of inventory at the current month's rate of sale.

Total Months Inventory = Total Current Inventory / (Total Monthly Sales/12 Months)

Excellent points, Diane and Deborah - especially the one about the appraisal. I am going through an appraisal issue now on a town house and it just delays whole process and gets everyone a little stressed out!

Hi Keith,

Diane's answer was spot on and thorough.

Since the buyer is financing, the appraisal must support the purchase price of 140K, including the payment of the buyer's closing costs. If the appraisal does not support the purchase price, the buyer will come back to renegotiate the deal.

Good luck
Deborah Madey - Broker
Peninsula Realty Group

Hi Keith,
You'll have to at least provide an address for comp statistics. There are too many adult communities in Toms River for us to make an educated answer from the information you provided.
Who gave you the list price? Do you have an agent representing you? What does he/she think about the offer? (I'm assuming you don't have an agent.) How long were you on market? Is the buyer preapproved? What's your motivation for selling? What are comparable units in your development selling for?
These are just some of the questions an agent would review to help you determine if your offer is a good deal or not.
If you want to search closed sales, you can go to my website below and order a market snapshot. It is free of charge and is one of the few places you can get closed sale information off the internet. However, getting it and being able to interpret it based on the current market conditions are two different things. Local agents know the difference one development brings over another (pricewise) and are your best bet to figure this out.
But, if you want some help from the Trulia community, answer my questions and you'll probably get some recommendations. Good luck!

Hey Keith,

Not sure which community you're talking about. If you are in Holiday City it may be a reasonable offer but if you are in say Greenbriar Woodlands then it's way off. As you can see it is very difficult to give you an accurate number when the community is a huge factor in value. Give me a ring at 732-644-9084 or e-mail at tzhomes@yahoo.com if you want to get a more defined analysis.

No charge obviously ;-)

Thomas Zdanowicz
Broker-Associate
"THE OCEAN'S SIX GROUP" http://www.osmls.com
ReMax Real Estate LTD.
C. 732-644-9084
O. 732-920-1900
E-Fax. 888-466-2248
E. tzhomes@yahoo.com
NJAR Circle of Excellence Award Winner '06-'08

Hi Keith, I don't think it is an unreasonable offer. It is a complicated question since a home could be listed at any price, but that does not mean it is priced where it should be. So without knowning more details, I would just say that it is not unreasonable.

William Troy
Veltri Realtors