Boston Real Estate for Sale

Boston Condos for Sale and Apartments for Rent

Loading...

How to make a good Offer on a Boston condo for sale

HOW DO YOU MAKE AN OFFER ON A CONDO?

Purchasing a Boston condo for sale can pose various challenges and differs substantially from the purchase of single-family homes.

As with any other purchase, composing an offer for a condo requires some preparation, especially the thorough studying of the condo association rules and other documentation relevant to the condo, as well average prices of condos in the area.

Do your research before submitting an offer on a Boston condo for sale

First of all, you must thoroughly study all the documents related to the condo and the rules, decisions, and directives of the condo association. You should also check how long the property has been on the market.

The level of interest for purchases of similar properties in the area, how pressed the seller is to achieve a quick sale, as well as potential experiences of existing condo owners will all give you a better understanding of what your offer should be. Some of this information may not be readily available. However, relying on experienced agents and realtors with specialized knowledge of the market is your safest bet to securing a good deal.

Submit your offer of a Boston condo for sale

Once you feel confident that the condo meets your requirements, prepare your offer and submit it. It is a known fact that the sellers always start with a higher asking price.  If you have well researched the current average prices in the area, you should be able to come up with a reasonable offer. The standard practice is to go between 5 and 7% below the asking price and start negotiations. If you are serious about buying the condo, do not try to lowball and come up with a price that will be unacceptable to the seller. Leave enough room for negotiation.

Your offer, especially if you are assisted by a realtor, should be an informed one. It should explain why you are offering a lower price than listed, and if possible, with some comparisons of similar properties in the area. The offer is treated as official when dated and signed by both parties.

Your realtor should help you draft the offer containing all the relevant elements, such as the main terms of the sales and purchase agreement, eventual deposits, preconditions for closing and closing dates, representations, and warranties.

The seller’s counter-offer on the Boston condo for sale

The seller might come up with their own counteroffer or agree to start negotiations. It’s not very common for the first offer to be accepted, and negotiations are practically an omnipresent element of any real estate purchase. The seller’s counter-offer may be a good indication of how much they are willing to go down with the selling price. Consult with your agent and analyze this counter-offer and, if you think there is room for talks, try to come up with a new offer.

The threat of another buyer on the condo for sale

In case there is another interested party, you should be careful and ready to enter a bidding war. Obviously, this is a scenario that suits the seller, who may try to get the potential buyers to bid against each other and raise the price. The presence of more than one potential buyer is not a bad thing in itself, but it does call for caution. Don’t allow yourself to get carried away in the bidding process. Remain within the boundaries of the price you have decided upon before submitting the offer. Otherwise, you might eventually win but then regret the fact that you have overpaid the property.

————————————————————————————————————————————-

You just found the perfect Charles River Park condo and it is priced at $500,000. Now what? Do you offer $475,000? The number one factor for making a great offer on a Boston condo for sale is knowing the DOM (days on market). If the sellers are asking fair market value and there are no other offers on the table you can follow this rule of thumb.

1-3 DOM (Days on Market)

You will need to offer full price or be extremely close to it. Make sure your Boston buyers agent calls the listing agent to check if there are already multiple offers submitted.

4-14 DOM (Days on Market)

You will need to offer within 1% to 3% of the asking price. At this point, the Beacon Hill home is still pretty new on the market and the sellers aren’t going to consider much less than they want. The sellers will generally wait at this point for something better.

15-31 DOM (Days on Market)

With this time frame, you can consider 3% to 5% off the asking price on the Boston condo for sale. The sellers are probably starting to worry they won’t sell their Charles River Park condo, but it is still recent enough on the market they aren’t going to consider lowball offers.

32-60 DOM (Days on Market)

At this point, you can consider asking 4% to 7% off the listing price on the Boston condo for sale. Feel free to get a little aggressive with what you are asking for. It doesn’t hurt at this stage to try for a significant reduction on the Charles River Park condo.

60+ DOM (Days on Market)

Be reasonable but at the same time feel free to ask 5% to 10% off the listing price or more, depending on the downtown Boston condo and situation. Make sure your Boston condo buyer’s agent has checked in with the listing agent before making an offer. At this point, the sellers may have already had a price drop or two and you can’t take another 10% off their latest price drop.

Summary

Keep in mind every Boston condo for sale and every neighborhood market is a little different. Make sure to rely on the advice of a top downtown Boston real estate agent. Also, keep in mind that higher-priced (luxury) properties tend to stay on the market longer and you typically won’t be able to ask too much off the top. However, these DOM numbers are a good rule of thumb. Always have your Boston Midtown condo buyer’s agent check the home’s value. Check if there are other offers on the table, and find out if the sellers have made any price drops since they started the listing. With these items and the DOM in mind, you will be able to make a good offer on a downtown Boston real estate listing for sale

Call Now