Real estate agents say this is the kind of market where a savvy buyer can negotiate the deal of a lifetime. But, you need to know what to ask for, when to ask for it, and when to walk away.
Agents say the Tampa bay area real estate market has hit rock bottom, moving from a crazy seller’s market to an incredible buyer’s market led by home builders with too much inventory. Builders like Parkview Homes recently slashed prices, giving away big cash incentives.
A Parkview representative told us, “The inventory homes that are ready to move in within 30 to 60 days we have up to 27 thousand dollars in incentives, some of the money comes directly off the price of the home, the rest of the money we're using for financing options.”
And if you build a new home, appliances, granite counter tops, and builder upgrades are all part of the deal.
But, veteran real estate agent Vince Arcuri says you can get all that, and more, if you know how to negotiate. And if you're willing to be ruthless, you can get the deal of a lifetime.
“You can ask for anything. I think last year they would have probably laughed you out of the room and taken the next offer that came in the next five minutes after that one,” Arcuri tells us.
But offers aren't five minutes apart anymore; Arcuri says sellers are lucky to get even one buyer in five months.
He says first negotiate the price of the home from market price, not the sticker price.
That's tricky. Arcuri says you need to pull comparable home values from recent sales…but comps from three to six months ago may still be too high.
According to Arcuri, “Just because you got a seller to come down 30 or 40 thousand dollars, it doesn't necessarily mean you got a good deal if the house was overpriced by 50 or 60.”
Arcuri says people are still trying to price their home based on last year’s boom, not this year's bust.
Next, he says gauge the seller’s motivation and negotiate with the confidence of knowing you’re the only bidder. And if the seller says other offers are coming in?
“If an agent told me that, I would advise my buyer to just pull out and see what happens, because I wouldn't want to compete with anybody in this market because you don't have too,” Arcuri advises.
He says right now is the best time to negotiate in newer communities.
“Where the builders overbuilt, the inventory is huge, there was a lot of investor purchases last year. Those investors who were flipping properties inside of 30 days have now been sitting on them for eight, nine, ten months.their pretty desperate to get rid of the property, many of those investors are willing to take a loss,” says Arcuri.
He says your strategy should focus on negotiating between the desperate investor and the builder,
“You’re able to manipulate that seller because they realize they are up against the builder that's going to give those amenities, they're going to give a pool, they're going to give the granite countertops, they're going to do stainless appliances and either they have to comply at a lower price or continue to hold the property.”
Finally, on the ruthless end of the negotiating table, Arcuri says pulling out of a deal can be one of the most effective way to get a steal in this market. He says one of his co-workers just pulled off an incredible deal, “As the home neared completion she let the builder know she was withdrawing from the contract because she felt the price was too high and the seller came down 100-thosand dollars and paid all of her closing costs.”
Finally, agents say do you homework and take the emotion out of the negotiation. It will give you the upper hand.
