Buyers get choosy...
...when the selling gets tough
Robert and Juliet Pyles recently bought their first home in East Boston. The three-family house was on the market for $570,000, but they paid $540,000, a sure sign for them that the Boston real estate market has shifted to favor buyers.
''I feel confident that I can make an offer at a lower price -- considerably lower -- than what the seller is asking," Robert Pyles said. And so the couple is hunting for another piece of property.
''We don't mind taking the risk [on purchasing two homes] right now," said Pyles. ''We're seeing places on the market longer, and we're able to talk the seller way down in price."
Brokers from the North Shore to the North End are advising buyers to take advantage of accumulating inventory and dropping prices, as the once-robust real estate market continues to slow.
Sales of single-family homes in the second quarter dropped 5.2 percent from a year ago, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, and, as The Boston Globe reported last week, the number of condominiums listed for sale in Boston is up 50 percent from a year ago, while the number of price cuts has more than doubled, according to Listing Information Service Inc., which tracks the Boston condo market.
Joe Pucillo, ZipRealty's Boston district director, said more sellers are compromising on prices to sell before the holidays arrive and winter sets in, because sellers will not want to pay higher heating costs and mortgages during the holiday season.
''You might need to settle a little bit," he said, ''but you'll get a good deal."
Linda Hayes Power, a buyers agent for Carlson/GMAC Real Estate in Marblehead, said properties in her area have stopped selling above asking or at asking price. She said the increased inventory, especially of single-family homes, gives the buyer a clear negotiation advantage.
Still, Power advised buyers to be mindful that if they bid too low, they may lose the house. Sellers typically have a lowest offer in mind and won't bend beyond that.
Another twist: Fewer buyers are seeking $1 million-plus properties, Pucillo said, preferring convenience over extravagance.
''People aren't buying houses for status right now: They are buying houses for purpose," he said. ''It's not about how big your home on the North Shore is anymore. It's about [not] having to commute to the city in rush hour."
Optimistic industry experts predict that when spring comes around, prices will start to favor sellers again.
''My recommendation is to buy now. Next year you have no idea what's going happen," Pucillo said. ''What goes down, must go up -- you know it's going to happen, so buy now while you can." 