Wow, that Kansas City Home has been on the real estate market a long time. I'm sure that seller is willing to negotiate, right?

I recently had a relocation Kansas City home buyer make this comment:

Wow, that Kansas City Home has been on the real estate market a long time. I'm sure that seller is willing to negotiate, right?

One of the interesting aspects of real estate is to listen to the way home buyers go about their home search. They typically miss the important stuff. How the home is arranges, stages and the length of time the home has been on the real estate market has no bearing on whether it is a good choice. Home buyers will often have completely opposite views on what areas of an MLS listing is important. One that is often discussed is how long the Kansas City home has been on the market. Most home buyers are even clever to notice when a home has been listed multiple times.

Some home buyers like to look at homes that have been on the market for a long time -  their rationale is that the home seller really needs to sell and is tired of having their home on the market so they are most likely willing to negotiate on a sales price. Even if the home has had multiple price reductions. 

Other home buyers feel that long listing histories indicate that a home may have severe mechanical and/or structural problems. Other home buyers have passed so why don't they. 

The reality of the home buying process is that both of these approaches could be right – or they could be wrong. Since every home seller has a different reason for selling and a different approach to marketing their home, every home needs to be evaluated independently.

The length of time a home has been on the real estate market is not a good indication of the sellers willingness to negotiate. In fact, a home may be on the market for a long time because the seller refuses to negotiate. Likewise, there are some excellent homes on the market that have always been runner ups and have been passed on for no real reason. 

The Kansas City home buying market is very fickle. Some Kansas City neighborhoods and cities will see high demand for a particular style of home or price range – while other homes that don’t meet that criteria are totally unwanted. The market is so fickle that in two months the reverse could be true.

Rather than using the length of time a home has been on the real estate market as a criteria for making home buying decisions, use the criteria that is really important to your home buying needs. Price, size, location, and special needs should be your top primary concerns.

Who knows? You may find two homes in Kansas City you love – one that has been on the market for two years and one that was listed yesterday. The outcome for either home could be the same when it comes to condition and the seller’s willingness to negotiate.

RE/MAX sells more homes than any other real estate company.
For a reason...should we talk?

Blog post written by the Dowell Taggart Team of RE/MAX Premier Realty 

Comments are appreciated! Go ahead and add your 2 cents . . .
We have 3 easy steps to find you the perfect home . Click here to get started, today!

Short sales, foreclosures, luxury homes, investor homes, first time home buyer homes, land, investment properties and move up buyers.

Gardner, Olathe, Overland Park, Leawood, Lenexa, Shawnee, Mission, Merriam, Prairie Village, Basehor, Tonganoxie, Lansing, Leavenworth, Spring Hill, Eudora, De Soto, Edgerton, Platte City, Smithville, Gladstone, Liberty, Riverside, Independence, Lee's Summit, Pleasant Hill, Raymore, Belton, Grandview, Raytown, Waldo and the surrounding Kansas City communities.