reasonable discount to offer on prices

Houser, There is no formula. Some apartments will sell over the ask and others will sell below ask despite price cuts. You have to have a feel of the market price. If you go to the open house and there are 30 people attending, do not expect a big discount. If the place has been on the market for a couple of months, no harm in asking the selling the broker that you are thinking x% discount. Should you even bother? I have purchased an apartment 30%+ below the original ask and 8% below the last ask after a series of price cuts. Just did a deal 20% below the original ask and 6% below the last ask.

I would hire a real estate agent to help guide you through making an offer. Every building and neighborhood is different. Additionally, every seller is different with what number they are OK accepting before officially lowering their price.

In today's market, very few things sell below 10% of the asking price.

Hope that helps too.
Danielle

Houser, With agents offering a rebate, why would not you get one and put some extra money in your pocket. Keith Burkhardt helped me negotiate the deals I mention.

There is another one I tried to negotiate 15% down but they would NOT take any further price cut. It is still sitting on the market and in my view will sit on the market till the time they take a big price cut. Worst is that they tell you to go away. I also saw an apartment where I decided not to bid as I knew it would trade over ask due to being priced well. There was a line in the lobby to see the apartment.

Every seller is different and has their own thresholds, so you really have to take a case-by-case approach. I would say that estates, as a group, generally speaking, are more willing to negotiate deeper discounts b/c their goals are primarily liquidation and not necessarily to hold out for the best price. There are also many ways to skin a cat these days. I have been getting creative with my offers lately to get discounts for my clients that are not reflected in the contract price (in addition to the commission rebate I offer).

Dan Gotlieb
Digs Realty Group
www.digsrealtynyc.com

I have had the opposite experience with estates, though one would think the heirs want their money sooner than later. Many times the estate has to sell at no less than the appraised value of the home and this is enforced by the courts. In one recent deal the appraised value was silly and prevented us from doing the deal. Over a year on the market!

Don't every be afraid to bid low, it's all relative to the ask. Sellers can ask what they want, however if they have a seasoned agent there should be a method to their pricing. Some agents like to price soft, get the sharks worked up. This was popular in 2014/2015 when the market was really pumping, not so much these days.

Its not all math, there is an emotional component as well. Will you be willing to pay a premium to market for that perfect home? I usually provide two valuations for each property; what I would like to pay if it 'got the job done for me'. I will also provide an opinion on what I would be willing to pay if it really floated my boat and had many positive attributes. Most importantly a great location, reasonable monthlies, great light/views in a marquee building. Sometimes it is well worth paying a little more than 'fair market' for the right property as it will serve you well in both rising and declining markets.

As 300 points out there are a lot of different variables that come into play and sometimes the best way to get at it is toss in an offer and see what you get. Just speaking with the agent is not as effective as submitting a documented offer. It's easy to go up in price, not so much going down (: At the end of the day it's not rocket science but I personally think it can be very helpful to have an experienced broker on your team. Best of luck!

FYI: Prospect Heights is pretty hot...Don't be afraid of wasting anyone's time, it's just an email and once you get the conversation going you never know, sometimes good things happen. In golf we say, 'Never up, never in".

Keith Burkhardt
The Burkhardt Group

To some extent it depends on how you will be selecting your apartment. If you want to look at 200 apartments and pick out that "perfect one" to buy it's an awful lot different than if you see 200 apartments and make low offers on all of them and then choose the one which you can get the best deal on. Remember the famous Donald Trump quote about "I don't buy the house I want - I buy the one which is the wrong price."

30y, That is a great point.

Lots of good points on this thread. My experience is that buyers typically are reluctant to offer a low price - even if it is deserved. We advise our clients to offer the price they want to pay - but it should be defensible. Throwing out a low ball offer that has no basis in reality will immediately be rejected. But a thoughtful offer that is 10% below the asking price, supported by recent comps and a thorough explanation of why the price is correct, will usually get a counter offer, and will be, at the very least, considered. Remember, the listing broker (if there is one) often wants to get the deal done as well, and if their seller insists on a higher than market price, they will welcome a well thought out, low offer - and try to sell it to their client.

Doug Perlson
www.realdirect.com

NY_Houser - there are no hard and fast rules on how low your offer can be. If you're looking for discounts why not try some new developments? There's a glut of supply and I hear of price cuts of 20% and more with commission on offer of 4% sometimes.

This is one of the best times to cut a great deal as a buyer. Get a discount on the price and get a cut of the commission through a reputable local rebate provider like Hauseit or any other innovative real estate company in NYC. Good luck!