Not knowing the specific house you are referring to, tough to answer. There is no rule as to how to bid on any property; keep in mind some homes are still overvalued, while others priced on target. If you need assistance feel free to call or e-mail; know the area very well.

Anna
917-576-5376
abrocco@laffey.com

Hi J,

I know that this question was posted several months ago, but now there is a tremendous amount of buyer activity going on and I thought it would be pertinent to offer some good advice. The best answer to your question is to work with an agent that is going to be your buyer's representative. No . . . this will NOT cost you money, you do not have to pay them a fee, and yes, the seller will be paying the broker the commission. The reason I say this is because it is unethical and illegal for a listing agent or any agent other than a buyer's representative to advise and consult you on the price you should offer on a particular home. The reason for this is that all real estate agents other than an agent that is working for you in the capacity of a buyers agent HAS to work for the best interest of the seller and therefore get the SELLER the best price. So, if you saw a house and it was listed for $1.3M, the listing agent or any other real estate agent other than YOUR buyer's reprsentative would have to advise you to put the best offer you can on that house.

I happen to be a real estate attorney and I love working as a buyer's agent when I represent buyers because many agents cannot offer the same advice and consultation that I can, and I know better than most agents how important it is to diligently and aggressively represent a buyer. In fact, we have saved our clients a lot of money on their purchases, researched and presented to our buyers comps of recently sold homes in the area, etc. to show the buyer in black and white how we come up with a value. This level of service can only come to you via a buyers representative. Furthermore, if you currently live in NYC, wouldnt it be a great thing to have an agent work for you like your very own personal attorney in finding, researching homes and advising and consulting you on the best price to bid on that home? If so and you haven't found a home yet, then give me a call or email me. My information is on my profile.

I somewhat disagree with the previous response to your question. Sales have not dropped...inventory has increased.

There are some areas where prices are still rising, although not quite as much, and plenty of short sales and REO's and forclosures. You must be familiar with what is happening in a particular area.

Some homes are actually being priced ahead of the market to increase offers; my best suggestion is to get a CMA (comparative market analysis) of this home in this particular neighborhood with sales only covering the immediate past 3 months of sales. This will give you some idea of neighborhood values.

If you should like some assistance with this, feel free to contact me at Gail@GailGladstone.com...lived in Woodbury/Syosset for many, many years.

Hi, J,

A good price to offer is one that would be accepted by the seller.

A real estate pro will do a market analysis for you and tell you
based on their knowledge and the market conditions what a house is worth.

Right now we are presently in a housing market that is in a transition period.
So it is hard to exactly come up with a price because of an abrupt stop of buying that has
happened from September (Lehman Brother's failure) .
There are not a lot of comparable sales out there.
You are willing to offer $260,000 less, I don't know. The worst that can happen is they say, no.
There is no ridiculous price to offer in today's market, especially when there are no buyers!!!!

Good :Luck,
Camille Dandola
Real Estate Agent
listed for 1.3 in Woodbury.