If you’re a seller, I’d like you to know and understand that a home is worth whatever a buyer is willing to pay for it. Yes the market statistics, data, and trends are important, but at the end of the day, the buyer’s willingness to pay is key.
To help illustrate this point, I’ve got a short story to share with you.
Recently I was looking at a condo in the Irvine area with a client. This property was priced at $630,000. As soon as my client saw this property, they absolutely fell in love with it.
As it happens, their daughter actually lived in the same neighborhood. Since they were older and had retired, being near family was as important to them as how much they loved the property.
“To my clients, the money wasn’t as important as the home itself.”
To them, money wasn’t as important as both of these factors. When we ran the numbers, we learned that homes in this neighborhood were selling between $620,000 and $630,000. Even so, the client told me they wanted to offer $640,000.
I knew this number was higher than what would likely be justified by an appraiser, but they didn’t really care. They had the additional funds to cover the difference and didn’t want to take any chances.
The property actually did see a number of other offers, but the sellers didn’t disclose how much they were for. For all we know, our offer might have been the highest. Because of the level of interest in the property, my clients wanted to do everything they possibly could to make sure they won out against the other buyers.
When the sellers sent back their counteroffer, my clients revised their original offer and said they would be willing to pay $642,000. Thankfully, they did get the property.
But as I expected, the property did appraise for slightly less. Still, my clients didn’t have an issue paying the difference. To my clients, the money wasn’t as important as the home itself.
If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
