Yesterday, I decided to see what would happen if I reversed a client’s search:  I used all the criteria they were looking for, but instead of looking at available homes, I looked at sold homes.

Not one home had sold for under $1,000 less than asking price.   Some — including one with no garage door and a seemingly biohazardous fridge — sold for as much as 15% above asking price.

I repeated the experiment with another client search.  The overwhelming majority of homes had sold for within 5% of asking price. I took the latest hotsheet with two days worth of closed homes;  out of 329 sold homes, well over 9 out of 10 sold for within 5% of asking price.  Some 5% higher, some 5% lower. This held true up and down the price spectrum, only breaking down completely in the under $60,000 range.

What does this mean to you?  First, it means that the overwhelming majority of homes that are actually selling are “fairly priced.” To be sure, there are some sellers with unrealistic expectations. Since there are even now 16,000 single family homes available in the Las Vegas Valley, feel free to walk away from those homes that are overpriced!

For that matter, there are some buyers that are willing to bid up in multiple offer situations. Perhaps it is because they are afraid of losing their dream home — or worse yet, losing “yet another” home in a bidding war. Again, buyers need to feel free to walk away from these situations.  There are plenty more homes where that one came from!

It means that if you are putting an offer in on a home, you need to be prepared to make an offer near the purchase price.  With a few exceptions, you won’t get that house with a lowball bid. You don’t necessarily need to offer more than the purchase price — but consider the possibility if you want the seller to pay for your closing costs — but you do need to make a fair offer instead of an insulting one.  This even applies to bank owned properties.  Banks are being realistic in their pricing:  most have given up on recouping the loss from the defaulted mortgage and the fees involved in foreclosing;  they have already inspected the property and know about the terrible thing you think deserves a huge discount.   If I ever catch up with the person who started the myth that you can buy foreclosed properties for 65% less than asking price, she had better watch out.

And finally, if you are considering selling your home, pay close attention when your Realtor talks about “comps” such as currently available homes and homes that have recently sold in your neighborhood.  The currently available homes are your competition for buyers, and the ones that have sold will dictate how the home appraises. I know I know, your home is nicer it has a nicer view it has all the amenities didn’t you see the terrific great room look at those upgrades.  The market will dictate what you can realistically get for your home. Price fairly, and it will move quickly.  In the immortal words of Jim Cramer, “pigs get slaughtered.”

Have a great weekend.