Jason O’Neil

By Jason O’Neil

Are the two at odds with one another? I say yes. I begin each buyer consultation with the simple question: “Do you want a great deal or do you want a great home?” The responses are typical:

“Both! Ha Ha Ha…I mean, can’t we get both?”

“Uhhhhh. Great home?”

“Somewhere between.”

“Great home. Good deal. Is that possible?”

Most home owners forget what they paid for their home the instant after they move their stuff in. And while most of them get a monthly reminder about how much they owe on their home, very few remember the asking price, let alone the prices of the other 10 homes they looked at before they found “The One.” The hang up on the good deal is so over emphasized that I predict it will fade in the next 12 months.

I know that there are naysayers out there, but I am having some serious deja-vu. In 2006, home sellers had the golden tickets. Price? Price had nothing to do with selling a house, heck, if you missed the mark on price the market would quickly appreciate so fast that the market would catch up with the price. Sellers didn’t have to negotiate and buyers were at their mercy. My how the tables have turned. But have they really? I am starting to see the same type of overreaction in buyers. I had a buyer ask the seller to fix the neighbors house during an inspection negotiation!

Sellers are saying enough is enough and our market is normalizing. The great homes sell and sell quickly for close to their asking price…some get multiple offers. The homes that languish on the market are the ones that have been over looked, or been rejected by other buyers and the market as a whole. Do you want a great home or a great deal?

Jason O’Neil is a broker and an owner of McKenzie Real Estate in Indianapolis. Visit his Web site: www.McKenzieListings.com