How much should one expect in terms of an offer on a home listed for $520,000? I know there are a lot of variables at play, but is there a general answer to this general question? The home has been listed for 30 - 60 days. I'm just looking for a guideline.

Yes, I've done that, but the nature of the area makes that type of information difficult to assess. These are all custom homes in an extremely scenic, mountainous area. Home values there are determined by the quality of the view as much as anything else.

30-60 days on market . . out here in the middle of the Pacific in this RE manic phase we're going through, if a house were on the market that long, it would be sending up alarm bells that something was incredibly wrong with it. Four house away from me, a house listing for over $600K had a couple of full price offers on it . . . before it hit the MLS. Some neighbors tipped off people they knew were in the market.

When I was shopping, I kept a spread sheet that showed average asking price per sq foot over time, if the land had property beyond a std lot, and if it was river front. I used 2 local real estate web sites to help my research. I also contacted some real estate folks and got prices from recent sales.

Over time I found that, in the area I was shopping, while folks pretty much got what they were asking, if the house was water front, the sellers were more inclined to get less of it. The max observed discount in this area was about 15% off of asking. Average purchase price was about 5% off asking. Waterfront sometimes added an arbitrary $50K to $100K for the overall value (when compared to comparable sized houses that weren’t water front).

So what I'm trying to say is that other houses in the area will give you a good basis for over all value, and the markup paid for water front is negotiable. Unless there is something wrong with the house, the time on the market doesn’t mean anything.

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...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"

what lebenz said about the water frontage seems to pretty much apply to quality of the view. so if this house the nice view when talking to realtors about prices mention that and they should know and be able to give you some ideas.

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72 W114/M130

RedMeat cartoon

If your in the 500K range and are not experienced in the RE market you must do 2 things. Hire a well known Buyer Broker to represent you don't settle for that Dual Agency BS and trust your fate with some flaky RE salesperson. A good buyer broker will pull all of the comps and everything you need to make an educated decision.

Once you do all that hire a appraiser.

a buyer broker is THE way to go. Its not costing you anything, yet you get a great local resource. They also facilitate the buying/negotiating process. They can also provide you that "general answer" to a "general question". Having been through several tranactions on properties 700 miles away, our agent provides peace of mind, as she is working for US - not them. She also knows your market, unlike any of us. Property in my area has gone up over 60% in the past 5 years. But in many areas, its flat.
Be sure to talk with several brokers, and work with whomever you are confortable with.

I probably would if he were in the neighborhood, but his practice is limited to Illinois/Florida.

No -- definitely not in the loop. What is the difference between a buyer/broker and an agent? I have spoken to a couple of agents. One I know and trust to a degree at least. She's pulling up the comps as we speak.

You can always go up with your first offer but never down. I once offered 90 K for a 940 acres of hunting land (half swampy) in the UP of MI they were asking 165 K and they accepted my offer........

William Rogers...........

Don't walk in the dark @ $520K you can take a serious hit if you don't have someone in the RE business working for you. You can also negotiate the commisions on a buyer brokerage and can likely save yourself a percentage of the commisions if you negotiate that with the broker.

I buy homes for an investment group, they buy the homes sight unseen based soley on the information I give them, in turn I get a percentage of the profits when the home is rehabbed or sold so I have a serious vested interest in making sure they buy right.

You can do the same you can offer a 10% bonus for the difference between listing price and actual sales price with the broker, this works well because he/she truly has a vested interest in saving you money.

And always hire a lawyer to review anything you sign, a few hundred bucks can save you a ton of headaches that will cost you thousands to fix. My general rule of thumb is to invest at least 1/2% of the total cost of an investment on other professional advice. To date I've never been burned and when problems did arise(and they often do) I had someone to stick it to other than myself or partners.

A good example, keep in mind that a property is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. One thing I would ask a buyer broker is has the owner of the home you want to buy have an accepted purchase on another home contingent on the sale of the existing home, that type of scenerio can score you a home run if you play your cards right.

Gotcha -- thanks for the tips!