https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 18 May 2026 15:04:47 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-2626894 Sat, 24 Sep 2016 11:46:03 +0000 808love 2626894@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes, looking at the comps is good for a ballpark initially and then decide how much you want to negotiate from there. Even the comps were negotiatiated at some point. Everything can be negotiated.<br /> @anon-sounds like a great deal! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-2626878 Sat, 24 Sep 2016 10:37:23 +0000 anonysquire 2626878@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I should have come back and updated after we closed on the house: we ended up getting 50,000 knocked off the price. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-2626830 Sat, 24 Sep 2016 07:01:50 +0000 honeybear 2626830@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This isn't the right approach to figuring out how much to pay for a house. You need to look at comparable house sales (not asking prices) and nail down the price per square foot for each house. Then you take those comps and compare them to the PPSF that your seller is asking. That's how you figure out whether you're paying a reasonable price. The percentage that a seller came down from their fantasy price is merely a gauge of their initial greed, it doesn't reflect the market or whether you're getting a good deal. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-2626828 Sat, 24 Sep 2016 06:52:17 +0000 oliviaoblivia 2626828@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Totally depends on the market.<br /> We talked ours up 22% over asking. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-2626762 Fri, 23 Sep 2016 20:37:50 +0000 808love 2626762@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our realtor was good. We bought after the first open house for 5%lower than asking as a result of their counter offer. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-2626723 Fri, 23 Sep 2016 18:18:32 +0000 BSB 2626723@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm wondering this as well. I assume it also has to do with whether the area is a buyers or seller's market. If a home has been sitting on a market for a while the seller might be be willing to accept a (within reason) lower offer. Also, I would think if they just recently dropped the price, they might not go much more under. (I'm thinking they will want to see if there are any more offers after they just dropped the price.) </p> <p>This is all speculation. (We have never purchased a home before.) If we find a home, I will definitely ask my realtor. Last time we considered buying a home our realtor (a family friend) definitely gave us an idea of if the house was priced right. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1206105 Sat, 09 Nov 2013 16:32:48 +0000 ShayNanigans 1206105@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Look up the most recent price per square foot for homes recently sold in your area. That'll also help you figure out if the house is close to fair market value. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1206031 Sat, 09 Nov 2013 14:47:26 +0000 hellobeeboston 1206031@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JoJoGirl: we would have LOVED to stay metro earlier but couldn't justify the $$! I hear ya, so much for places that need a ton of work.</p> <p>DH is in NH a lot for work -- so we're north... just got a single-family a little further northeast, closer to ocean... house is less than a mile from the commuter rail, which was key for me as I work downtown. we got lucky &amp; found a place that was move-in ready and the updates we need to do we can wait on for a few years! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205846 Sat, 09 Nov 2013 10:14:41 +0000 JoJoGirl 1205846@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hellobeeboston: metro in a townhouse. We'd love to stay metro and find a single family, but everything that costs double our current place is a fixer-upper. So scary!! You? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205820 Sat, 09 Nov 2013 09:39:27 +0000 hellobeeboston 1205820@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JoJoGirl: ugh! Good luck... It took us months and we missed out on a few being over bid. But we are psyched about where we ended up! The market should be better in the winter! Less bidding wars hopefully! </p> <p>And we were thankful because our current townhouse sold in 3 days and for the last year we thought we were going to loose money on it, so we took advantage of it!</p> <p>Are you north, south or metro? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205817 Sat, 09 Nov 2013 09:35:14 +0000 JoJoGirl 1205817@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hellobeeboston: we are looking here too. It's nuts :( </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205813 Sat, 09 Nov 2013 09:25:53 +0000 hellobeeboston 1205813@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Like others have said, the zillow "zestimates" are not particularly accurate.</p> <p>You can look up "comps" in the area - similar square footage, beds, baths, features to get an idea. Also look at sales in the past 3 months. Easy to look online at all of that.</p> <p>You can definitely negotiate down if its dated. Percentage is hard to say without knowing the market.</p> <p>The fact that its been on a month already works to your favor!</p> <p>And I would say knowing them is a disadvantage... It's not ok to be personal about something as big as a home purchase and your future. Def hire a realtor and closing attorney!</p> <p>We just bought a new house but had to basically offer asking, it was on the market for 2 days and they had 4 backup offers - but the market here is nuts. During the inspection we found some items that we would have to pay for and they negotiated the price down. </p> <p>Good luck! Exciting! :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205770 Sat, 09 Nov 2013 08:27:19 +0000 JoJoGirl 1205770@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Houses in our area always go for $75-$100K over asking. There's no set percentage because it depends more on what they list it for. Use redfin and the MLS or ziprealty.com to find out what similar houses have sold for recently. Or I'd hire a realtor. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205755 Sat, 09 Nov 2013 07:25:14 +0000 futuremama 1205755@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wouldn't use the Zestimates in Zillow. They're all over the place. However, use Zillow to find recently sold properties in the area. Then you can see the details of the houses on the county auditor website. I'd look at houses sold in the last six months or so at most. The market has changed a lot since the beginning of the year. Prices , at least in our area, have gone up quite a bit. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205754 Sat, 09 Nov 2013 07:13:47 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 1205754@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't think there is set percentage. Use comps and the inspection to help guide the true market value of a home. Our offer was accepted at 12% less than the list price. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205693 Sat, 09 Nov 2013 01:43:29 +0000 sunny 1205693@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd try to find out how much recently sold homes have gone for in your area to determine a fair price. A realtor can help you with that too.</p> <p>When we bought our home, we offered 10% under asking but that was in 2009 and home prices were still falling. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205654 Sat, 09 Nov 2013 00:09:36 +0000 yoursilverlining 1205654@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Zillow is not especially accurate.<br /> Offering less than 30% of asking is generally a slap in the face.<br /> Most of this information is available via your local MLS and property sales records (all available for free online), but every market varies, and each house varies. We've offered over asking and lost, we offered full asking a week on market and got our house. I would do more research before thinking about buying. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205652 Sat, 09 Nov 2013 00:05:29 +0000 indi 1205652@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@anonysquire: You could also see if your county does tax look-ups online. In my state, you can usually go online for most counties and look up the tax assessed value, who owns it, the last 5-10+ years of real estate tax billings/statements, etc. Tax values aren't always right on, but it may give you a more accurate ballpark range if Zillow seems far off. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205646 Fri, 08 Nov 2013 23:49:40 +0000 Corduroy 1205646@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It all depends on your market and how the house is priced. We just paid $50k over asking but our house had four offers on it before it even went on the market. If a house sits for a month here the owner is probably ready to listen to a bargain. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205409 Fri, 08 Nov 2013 19:19:25 +0000 Mrs. Yoyo 1205409@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@anonysquire: zillow can be way off! Best way is comps from similar homes nearby. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205378 Fri, 08 Nov 2013 18:46:57 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 1205378@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We live in your area and got our house for 18% lower than listing after 6 months of waiting and three offers. It was tough!</p> <p>We went through an awesome realtor to get this deal. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205376 Fri, 08 Nov 2013 18:45:37 +0000 anonysquire 1205376@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@TurtleDoves: Lol I don't know either. I am not good at this buying stuff and my husband isn't here for me to bug. I want this house though. Basement with separate entrance so I can have a salon in there! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205374 Fri, 08 Nov 2013 18:43:00 +0000 CupQuakeWalk 1205374@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@anonysquire: damn. 100,00? I wonder how accurate that site is.<br /> I say get comps and such from a LOCAL realtor and go from there. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205368 Fri, 08 Nov 2013 18:39:16 +0000 anonysquire 1205368@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ok update ladies: Looked on Zillow and the house is zestimated at 100,000 less than asking price. I called the realtor and it has only been listed a month. The house looks in great condition but 1972 and dated stuff. I don't know if that matters. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205361 Fri, 08 Nov 2013 18:32:33 +0000 Mrs. Pickle 1205361@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would definitely speak to a realtor. S/he can give you the comps for the area and find out if the sellers have turned down any offers. Since you know the sellers I think it would be less sticky if the negotiations go through an agent. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205359 Fri, 08 Nov 2013 18:29:30 +0000 PurplePeony 1205359@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It really depends on your market, too. Where I live, making a lower offer than asking price on a home in good condition is pretty much the kiss of death for your offer. Houses regularly go under contract in a week for full asking price or more. So you really need to do some research into what the conditions in your area are. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205358 Fri, 08 Nov 2013 18:29:28 +0000 NorCalWayfarer 1205358@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't think you need a realtor to find comps/determine a fair asking price, we did that all ourselves. But I agree w PP that having a realtor will be a nice neutral third party so not as to make your personal relationship w the seller awkward.</p> <p>ETA it doesn't hurt to talk to a realtor. They can easily run comps/will be familiar w the market. And as a buyer you're not payin them :-) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205357 Fri, 08 Nov 2013 18:27:42 +0000 Emsmems 1205357@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It really depends. I would get a realtor, they can look at comps in the neighborhood to help you decide what is a fair price. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205356 Fri, 08 Nov 2013 18:26:59 +0000 Mrs.Someone 1205356@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't think there is a standard %, it depends on the market in your area and the house itself. Some houses are over priced, some under. I would definitely agree with Espion that you should hire a realtor. Also, maybe just mention to the people that you are interested in the house, but don't try and make a deal with them yourselves. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-percentage-can-you-talk-down-a-house#post-1205355 Fri, 08 Nov 2013 18:26:39 +0000 NorCalWayfarer 1205355@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Depends on the area -- houses where we are regularly go for over asking with several offers on them. I've seen $100,000 over asking. That being said, do your research on the market using Zillow, Redfin or whatever you have in the region. It should be pretty easy to get an idea about what is a reasonable price from that. Good luck!! </p>