Where are the deals?

"What will you do if it's up? Change your diet?"
"No, change my doctor."
___92 year old having her cholesterol checked

A relevant edit would read, "What will you do if it doesn't sell? Lower your price?" "No, change my realtor."

One would think that with our tremendous inventory, deals would abound. That, however, is not the case. The level of denial and wishful thinking remains high. Many sellers are still of the mentality that there just may be an uninformed buyer who will breeze into town and snap up their over-priced listing without noticing that other similar properties are selling for less.

A couple of cases to illustrate the point: I showed a unit this week that is listed for $597,500. I sold the identical unit one floor higher for $445,000 a few months ago. In fact the last three sales in this building were all under $500,000. Wishful thinking will not make that unit worth over $500,000 and will certainly not make it appraise for more than the recent identical comps. Could I make my case and reason with the seller to accept an offer for $445,000? Possibly. I've done it before, but, it makes more sense for my buyers to approach a unit that is already priced closer to the comps.

Case number 2: A new listing in a popular oceanfront building hit last week for $429,900. Seems a little crazy considering that two identical units on the same floor are under contract for $290,000, your's truly on the buyer's side of one. The unit owner is aware of these units as this building notifies all owners of pending sales. I have buyers for this unit but with such unrealistic expectations, a deal is unlikely to materialize.

There are hundreds of similarly mis-priced listings. There are deals out there but they are buried within the over-1000 listings currently active in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral. If you're looking, be careful. You don't want to be the angel that the Matrix-dwellers are hoping for. Be aware of the recent sales and the other similar listings and be able to recognize the ones that are priced right. Know when a lowball offer is appropriate and know when something is priced right. Your expectations of price may be just as unrealistic as the seller's. Best bet; find an animal of a buyer's agent who knows the market and be patient.

"Will it sting?"
"Well, it might sting a bit, but you won't mind too much"
"Well, actually, I would mind if it stings"
______Five year old being offered eye-drops.