Full-Price Counter Offers: Don’t Flinch

The idea of a full-price counter offer doesn’t seem so far-fetched in a seller’s market, but would a seller make such an offer in a buyer’s market? The answer is yes.

We will explore some of the reasons a seller may make a full-price counter offer in later posts. Right now we want to assure you that being asked to pay full price is not the end of the world. In fact, it may just be the beginning of the negotiation process.

In a real estate transaction, both parties have an ideal dollar amount in mind. Both sides will do what they can to get as close as possible to that goal. After learning the listing price and visiting a property, you decided that the property was worth pursuing. But you may have felt it was not quite worth as much as was being asked.

A seller has varying reasons for putting a property on the market. Whatever these reasons may be, their hope is to sell. They just may not want to let their property go for the price you first proposed. So a seller may come back you and say, “I want to let this real estate go and I want it to go at the price I set.”

Don’t panic and don’t be afraid to come to the table with a counter of your own. If you suspect that the seller does not really want to sell to you, this will become clear. If the seller is willing to work with you, your position as a serious buyer will be established.

It is easy to decide to ‘take your toys and go home’ when you are presented with a full-price counter offer. Don’t do this. Stay in the game.