Buyers Looking For “Perfection At The Perfect Price”
June 22nd, 2010 | categories: Buying Real Estate in Coconut Grove, Selling Real Estate in Coconut Grove
The New York Times recently wrote a great article about buyers in today’s market titled “Demanding Buyers Hinder The Housing Market” Here in Coconut Grove, we have also noticed an increase in the number of buyers who are looking for a house that is “perfectly perfect in every way”. Many times they will preview over 50 homes only to come to the realization that they cannot have everything on their wish list AND get the house at a discounted price. Most of the time these types of buyers end up fading into the deep blue yonder.
The article also mentions the new sense of power and entitlement that many buyers currently have. Streitfield writes ”Exacting buyers are upending the battered real estate market, agents and other experts say, leading to last-minute demands for multiple concessions, bruised feelings on all sides and many more collapsed deals than usual.”
This article couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time for many of my sellers. Recently we had buyers request at the last minute that our sellers trim their trees, replace an air filter in the air conditioner and install a new front door (none of the work requested was on the inspection report). Last month I had a buyer back out of a $600,000 deal after the inspection report came back with $5,000 of repairs. The sellers were willing to split the cost of the repairs 50/50, but the buyers wanted the sellers to foot the entire amount of the bill. They decided to walk away. Keep in mind, houses in South Florida are technically sold “as-is”.
These types of situations can put sellers on an emotional roller coaster and are exactly the reason why you need an experienced agent to help you navigate the process. Some requests are reasonable and some are not. It is our job to help buyers and sellers realize what is truly important and to keep them from becoming increasingly frustrated with each other to the point where nothing gets done.
If you are interested in buying or selling real estate and looking for a realtor who specializes in Coconut Grove please don’t hesitate to contact me at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.