For homebuyers and sellers, the original list price is the conversation starter, yet rarely the final word – only about 15% of homes in the largest metro areas sold for the seller’s original asking price during 2019’s second quarter, according to real estate data firm CoreLogic.
Discounted sale prices occurred on 61% of homes sold, Corelogic reported, up from 57% in late 2018.
Tight markets subject to bidding wars and sale prices above the ask, of course, get the most attention these days. And those conditions continue, to varying degrees, in San Francisco. Seattle, Minneapolis, Denver, Boston, Los Angeles and Washington D.C., according to Corelogic data.
But sale prices below the list price were common in Miami (80% of sales below list), Chicago and Houston (70%) and other major markets. Buyers and sellers need to be aware of the new reality.
Another real estate company, Knock.com, which helps people buy and sell with bridge financing, expects discounts to list price to increase in 2019’s fourth quarter. Two in three home sales in the quarter will come in below the list price, and the average discount will be near 4%, Knock estimates.
Knock predicts that more than 80% of home sales in Miami will come in under the list price, and the average discount will be near 6%. In Chicago, Houston, New Orleans and Hartford, at least 75% of home sales are expected to be at a final price that is below the original list price. The average discount in those markets is forecast to be about 5%.
The cause isn’t a soft market. Of the aforementioned areas, only Chicago price gains have failed to keep pace with inflation over the past year. Some of the markets where buyers are enjoying strong negotiating leverage are also among the best for first-time homebuyers.
read more at: https://www.rate.com/research/news/homebuyers-paying-above-asking-price
