San Mateo-Foster City Real Estate News

The days of watching a house sell in a nanosecond are way, way, gone.  Today even a house in first rate condition can take a while to sell.  It means we are in a Normal real estate market.  It allows prospective buyers the luxury to look at a prospective house many times and at many different time of the day before writing an offer.  And, what gets written is an offer where it is expected you as the seller will negotiate with the buyer.  New concept Mr. and Mrs. Seller! 

Buyers are more in control than in resent years.  Sellers are just beginning to wake up to this, even in San Mateo County where a great many of our real estate markets are still Warm Seller's markets. Prices are finally adjusting.  They are edging downward, inch by inch.  Not much, but a little at a time with the help of single offers close to asking but not above.

If you have a house for sale today and it has sat for a while there is only one problem with it and that is price.  Any house will sell for the right price.  So let's assume your house is priced competitively and it has been on the market over 60 days.  You have reduced the price once but is there anything else you can do short of another price reduction?  Yes, there is. 

I've been talking about Points the last couple of days.  Rather than the buyer paying for points, why don't you, Mr. and Mrs. Seller, offer to pay down the buyer's points.  Believe me, this is likely less money than another price reduction for you, and it will allow a seller to get a more favorable loan rate.  You win.  The buyer wins.  The agents win.  We all win.  It's an old idea that is becoming resurrected and getting used again.  It was done pretty regularly in the late 20th Century -- remember back then?  It's easy to do, effective and just might help get your house sold.  It will certainly garner some additional looks by prospective buyers and isn't that what it's all about?

Suggest it to your agent.  If they haven't been around very long they may not even know what Points are, so you can explain them to him.  If you agent is seasoned they'll jump on the idea and add it to the MLS listing for prospective buyers to see.   If your agent does't "Get It", call us.  We do.