There are many strategies in negotiating northeast Florida real estate. The current trend is for buyers to place incredibly low offers due to the downward trend in the real estate market. But that method rarely works as sellers are justifiably unwilling to sell their Jacksonville home for thirty or forty percent less than they purchased it. Real estate negotiations in the current real estate market still take the same finesse and compromise they did in the old real estate market.

The first thing a buyer or seller should do when initiating negotiations is to determine the value of the property being sold. In the current real estate market values change monthly or even weekly so it’s important to be as up-to-date as possible. Buyers may feel empowered by the lackluster buyers market and make offers drastically below the asking price. This is a dangerous strategy for buyers as sellers can become uninterested in doing business with someone who makes such a low offer. Buyers should make an offer that is low but fair to start the negotiation process.

For instance: if you’re looking to buy Ponte Vedra Florida real estate that has an asking price of $275,000, a good initial offer would be $260,000. Prices on real estate have already dropped dramatically, so offering any less than that may discourage a seller. Of course the seller will come back with a counter offer but the end result will be with the buyer saving thousands of dollars.

Sellers need to use their pricing as a marketing tool. If the average price for property in a seller’s neighborhood is $310,000 and a seller prices their home for $315,000, they probably won’t get much attention from buyers. But simply dropping the price to $308,000 or $305,000 can produce the activity needed to bring a buyer to the negotiating table.