I have to strongly second what Kristine said in her answer in slightly different terms.
Your house is worth what a buyer is willing to put on a certified check which they hand to you at closing. Until you leave the closing with that check in your hands, you do not know what the property is worth. What you are willing to accept is meaningless unless a buyer is willing to put that number on a certified check.
In selling one property a few years ago I had an agent show me numerous comps which determined that the property was worth 1.2 million. At the single open house I got 12 offers. One for less than the 1.2 asking, one for asking, and 10 above asking. All the offers that I entertained backed out for some reason. In one case, lawyers were reviewing contracts with an agreed price of 1.350 million when the buyer backed out. I took it off the market. What was my house worth at that point?
Months later the realtor brought me a couple who definitely wanted to buy my property for 1.5 million. Everything went swimmingly until we got to talking about a contract and ten percent down. Turns out they wanted to buy at some undetermined time in the future and wished that I would sign the contract without a down payment and hold the property until that undetermined time. What was my house worth then?
Finally, another realtor brought me a buyer who was offering 1.6 million. I was still off the market but willing to entertain the offer. It went through and eight months later I walked out of the closing with a check that reflected the 1.6 less all the various costs of closing.
The number on the certified check is all that matters. Everything else is speculation.
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I have to strongly second what Kristine said in her answer in slightly different terms. Your house is worth what a buyer is willing to put on a certified check which they hand to you at closing. Until you leave the closing with that check in your hands, you do not know what the property is worth. What you are willing to accept is meaningless unless a buyer is willing to put that number on a certified check. In selling one property a few years ago I had an agent show me numerous comps which determined that the property was worth 1.2 million. At the single open house I got 12 offers. One for less than the 1.2 asking, one for asking, and 10 above asking. All the offers that I entertained backed out for some reason. In one case, lawyers were reviewing contracts with an agreed price of 1.350 million when the buyer backed out. I took it off the market. What was my house worth at that point? Months later the realtor brought me a couple who definitely wanted to buy my property for 1.5 million. Everything went swimmingly until we got to talking about a contract and ten percent down. Turns out they wanted to buy at some undetermined time in the future and wished that I would sign the contract without a down payment and hold the property until that undetermined time. What was my house worth then? Finally, another realtor brought me a buyer who was offering 1.6 million. I was still off the market but willing to entertain the offer. It went through and eight months later I walked out of the closing with a check that reflected the 1.6 less all the various costs of closing. The number on the certified check is all that matters. Everything else is speculation.
Post: Bought to Be Sold
Link to comment from November 17, 2022