Robert

"most every agent I know, when wearing the shoes of a buyer agent, encourages their buyer to write an offer based upon what he/she thinks it is worth. On Trulia, there have been several posted questions that asked, "how much lower than the list should I offer?" If you read those threads, you will find consistent answers from Realtors across the country that advised the buyer to look at comps and make an offer based upon the value of the property and not base it on the list price."
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Doesn't this ignore the fact that the market might be declining based on reduced demand? For example, if the last (arguably) comparable home sold for say 500K four months ago, does that mean that the new home placed on the market now is also really worth 500K based on comps? Maybe it really is worth 450 now, or even 400. I noticed when demand was strong sellers added 3-10% from last month's comps based on speculation of increased demand (which is how the prices got where they are so quickly). Nobody considered that inappropriate or "high-balling". I think buyers should always be encouraged to state what they would be willing to pay for a property. The seller can reject, but at least then they can distinguish between no interest and possibly a shift in the market. - Wed Jan 16 2008, 07:11

I would not hesitate if you included a phrase like "all reasonable offers considered" or "motivated seller" in your description. Otherwise, I'd assume the offer was likely not to get accepted and would move on to the next house.

I should clarify that this scenario is for truly discounted offers (15% or more). Where I live, it is assumed that 10% is taken off the top of any asking price, motivated seller or not. Once in a great while there is something priced to sell. In that case it sells in a day with multiple offers at 97% or so. But most properties are overpriced for the current market and no one hesitates to ask 10-10% off asking price. - Tue Jan 15 2008, 22:08

Many thanks, Sylvia and Patti. I will follow your suggestion -- it certainly would make things much easier for me to stay with one agent. I was led to believe that it was unusual, for example, for a Rogers Park agent to sell in Hyde Park, Evanston in Oak Park, etc, and that even possibly the out-of-territory agents would be at some disadvantage. Is this totally incorrect, then? I guess the latter was probably related to listing agents keeping hot properties off of MLS until they showed their own clients, but I'm guessing that is an remnant of the bull market -- now properties have been sitting up to 18 months and nothing goes quickly, as far as I can tell. - Wed Jan 2 2008, 10:08

The University also hosts a listing site: http://marketplace.uchicago.edu/category.php?category=apartments
Many condos in Hyde Park -- you should have no trouble finding what you want. - Tue Jan 1 2008, 18:58

My experiences have on balance been more positive. I have found that a good and trustworthy agent saves me enormous of time (e.g. learning my taste and pre-screening properties, digging up comps, explaining neighborhood history/dynamics, etc.). I've been on the other side also -- agents whose motivation I don't trust, who show selective listings, pressure, etc. I would obviously rather work alone than with someone like this, and there is nothing other than time that would stop me. Fortunately, I live where reputation travels well by word of mouth, so almost everyone I know uses and benefits from a good buyer's agent.

That said, there are still some things about the process that annoy me and don't make a lot of sense. Some of these were alluded to below -- not wanting to waste someone's time if I'm not in urgent need of buying, the fact that agent gets lower commission the better deal they negotiate for me, the fact that I can't see a listing without going through buyer's agent (this creates scheduling problems), how to deal with for-sale-by-owner. - Tue Jan 1 2008, 12:56

given all of the great answers below, the bigger mystery seems to be, in markets where asking prices are steady but inventory and time-on-market have gone up dramatically, why haven't price reductions followed? And when will they ...? I don't know anything about real estate, would like to be educated on this. It has surprised me as I've waited to buy, makes me hesitant. - Mon Dec 31 2007, 15:34

In neighborhoods where I'm looking, inventory keeps going up but asking prices haven't declined. Seems like a good time to wait in this area, at least 6-12 months or until something changes/clarifies. - Mon Dec 31 2007, 14:46