No Offers for Weeks and Then Suddenly Three at Once
Scott P. Rogers
You've been watching this house for three weeks.
Plenty of showings, apparently. But no offers. So you finally decide to go for it -- you make an offer -- and then, what do you know, the seller's agent calls to let us know that two more offers just came in.
Wait... what? Where were those buyers last week?
Here's what is often happening...
Some buyers, even when they're genuinely interested in a home, struggle to make a decision to make an offer when no one else seems to be moving. They're waiting for some signal that the house is actually worth wanting.
And then an offer comes in -- your offer -- and suddenly their thought of making an offer is confirmed as a good idea.
This is not a completely irrational way for a buyer to think about making an offer. When a home has been sitting for weeks, it's natural to wonder if you're the one missing something of why you shouldn't like the house. But sometimes there's no problem at all. Sometimes buyers just needed a nudge... from... another buyer, such as you.
So if you're genuinely interested in a home that's been sitting for a few weeks (or longer)... don't assume the lack of offers means you have all the time in the world. You might think it gives you leverage for negotiatoins -- and maybe it does -- but you might also be the one who accidentally starts a bidding war.
It's a quirky market sometimes. :-)
Plenty of showings, apparently. But no offers. So you finally decide to go for it -- you make an offer -- and then, what do you know, the seller's agent calls to let us know that two more offers just came in.
Wait... what? Where were those buyers last week?
Here's what is often happening...
Some buyers, even when they're genuinely interested in a home, struggle to make a decision to make an offer when no one else seems to be moving. They're waiting for some signal that the house is actually worth wanting.
And then an offer comes in -- your offer -- and suddenly their thought of making an offer is confirmed as a good idea.
This is not a completely irrational way for a buyer to think about making an offer. When a home has been sitting for weeks, it's natural to wonder if you're the one missing something of why you shouldn't like the house. But sometimes there's no problem at all. Sometimes buyers just needed a nudge... from... another buyer, such as you.
So if you're genuinely interested in a home that's been sitting for a few weeks (or longer)... don't assume the lack of offers means you have all the time in the world. You might think it gives you leverage for negotiatoins -- and maybe it does -- but you might also be the one who accidentally starts a bidding war.
It's a quirky market sometimes. :-)
