Sellers to Buyers: Stop With the Lowball Offers!

Home buyers who are looking for big discounts on housing nowadays are finding that their lowball offers are no longer sticking with sellers, and that their offers are getting a flat-out “no” when they’re way below the asking price.

"Right off the bat, buyers say, 'I want a steal,' and I tell them they have to wipe that word out of their vocabulary," says Jackie Smith, a real estate agent in Florida’s Broward and Palm Beach counties.

"People come in, and they think the market is 2008 or 2009, when sellers were desperate, they're not desperate. Not at all."

What qualifies as a lowball offer? Randy Bianchi, co-owner of Paradise Properties of Florida in West Palm Beach, Fla., says that sellers generally consider lowball offers to be less than 90 percent of their asking price.  Buyers, on the other hand, he says tend to say offers of 80 percent to 85 percent of the list price are reasonable.

An Unusual Secret Weapon? Boost a Home Price by $7k

Many critics have long-argued that Walmart’s “always low prices” often stretches to nearby home prices too. When the big-box discount retailer comes to town, some residents have protested, saying that the store had the potential to lower home values close by.

It was dubbed the “Walmart Effect,” and over the years it has made a lot of residents oppose proposed Walmarts coming to town.

But a new study finds that Walmart can actually give nearby home values a little lift.

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Trim Your Remodeling Costs: 4 Ways to Save

1. Don’t change plumbing or electrical configurations. Keep your plumbing fixtures and electrical work where they’re at. Instead of moving the plumbing or electrical all over the room, Case recommends for remodelers to “think about supplementing and extending your existing wiring instead of ripping it out and starting over,” which can be much more costly.

2. Find savings in materials. “The cost of cabinets, counters, fixtures, paneling, etc. can constitute up to 70 percent of your remodeling budget,” Case Remodeling notes in its blog. “While labor costs may be hard to reduce, the choice of materials is within your control.” For example, solid surfaces can look similar to marble, and granite tiles may be an option over stone to curb costs.

Americans expect 1.4% increase in home prices: Fannie Mae

Most Americans interviewed by Fannie Mae believe home prices will increase at least 1.4% over the next 12 months, the government-sponsored enterprise said. Fannie Mae interviewed approximately 1,000 survey respondents for its May National Housing Survey.

34% of those who responded — the highest level since March 2011 — said home prices will rise over the course of the next 12 months. In addition, 41% of respondents believe home mortgage rates will likely go up over the course of the next year, an increase from the previous month.