Negotiate Calgary Real Estate

The Ten Tricks to Win in This Market

POWER VERSUS NEED

THE CHASE

THE OVERPRICE DEATH WISH

RED HERRING

THE LETTER

THE BACKUP

THE REVERSE OFFER

THE FISHING LINE

THE WINNER'S CURSE

THE MAGIC WORDS

Power Versus Need

With an increased need to buy or sell comes a decreased position of power in negotiations

SELLERS

Always have a backup plan should your home not sell and know your motivations for selling. Can you rent your home should it not sell? How can you make your home more appealing to the pool of buyers .

BUYERS

Never fall in love with a property until you have waived conditions. The second you need this "one house" the second you have lost your negotiating power. Stay open to other options. The more choice you have, the more power you have.

- A common misunderstanding is all sellers are desperate

THE CHASE

In a market with downward pressure price to where the market is going, not where you think it currently is.

SELLERS

Stay one step ahead of the market with your pricing. This is not under-pricing your home or rental property,  instead you are setting yourself up for success. Here you have other active listings help sell your property and not vise versa. Keep records of the homes selling in your neighborhood and position yourself slightly below the homes that are not selling.

BUYERS

Know the market so well that you can jump on a property that a seller has priced to where the market is going. 
These are serious sellers that want to make a deal happen

- Have other listings help sell yours! The other listings do the negotiating for you. 

THE OVERPRICE DEATH WISH

A stale listing is open to "low ball" offers - but there is hope!

SELLERS

If you are not receiving showings and you have expert marketing around your home, chances are you are overpriced. The most common question from buyers when they see 100 days on market is: Why isn't this home selling? Is there something wrong with it? 

Not to worry if your listing has not been getting the action you suspected. Here are the solutions:

• Terminate Listing and Re-List with a fresh marketing approach.
• Re-List with strategic pricing.
• Ask your Realtor to show you the other listings on the market that you are competing with. Walk through these homes pretending you are a buyer; "Buyer's Eyes."
• Make sure your home is impeccably clean.
• Ask your Realtor/Stager for improvements to help this new listing.

- Re-List to Re-Fresh your negotiation power

THE RED HERRING

Make it work by focusing on different terms

SELLERS/BUYERS

Here you put the focus of the negotiation on something that is less important to you. Watch this particular negotiation technique as you have to approach it with tact.

Example: As a buyer you are very flexible on possession day, however, you put in a long possession day and negotiate based on this date. When things become close to an agreement you alter this date to better suit the other party and in return they make the other terms (ex. Price) more favourable for you.

It doesn't always work as motivations for these terms can differ.

- Focus on what is not important to improve your chances of getting what is important

THE LETTER

We are all people. Let's let them know where we are at

SELLERS/BUYERS

Too much friction in a residential real estate negotiation does not lead to favourable terms. Sure you might have got your price as a buyer but you have aggravated the person (seller) that will be in charge of your future home before possession.

Write a personal letter to the other party. Explain to them what your motivation is, comment on the nice features of their home, or let them know where you are moving to as a seller and why you are moving. Create a human element to your purchase contract and watch how smoothly this process can be! 

- This works particularly well in multiple offer situations where a seller is deciding between a number of buyers with similar offer prices. 

THE BACKUP

30% Of conditional deals fall apart. Be next in line! 

BUYERS

You found the home of your dreams but it is conditionally sold. There is still a chance you can get this home, so set yourself up to be the next in line. 

Have your Realtor write a backup offer with you and present it to the sellers. If you reach an agreement, the property will move to you should the current conditional deal fall apart. 

If the seller knows they have another deal waiting, it is likely they will not extend conditions on their current deal. 

- Conditionally sold does not mean sold

THE REVERSE OFFER

Putting an offer in front of a buyer

SELLERS

We are all familiar with buyers writing offers for sellers but have you heard of a seller proposing an offer to a buyer?

This is a great strategy in a buyer's market.  Following a showing, the seller reaches out and makes an informal offer to the buyer. This shows the buyer that you are willing to work with them and perhaps they can be swayed for the right price and terms.

It is important to not come from a place of desperation and instead show the buyer that your home is the right one for them!  

- Turn the process around to sell your home

THE FISHING LINE

If you want a deal, find one

BUYERS

In slow markets there are deals to be had but often times they are not visible by the list price alone.

Some sellers would accept offers quite a bit below their asking price but they are not willing to reduce their asking price below a certain value. The only way to snatch the lowest price on these is by submitting an offer. 

Here you must be prepared to walk away if the seller's response does not fit where you wish to be. Yes, some sellers may be offended but at the end of the day you are giving them an out. From there the seller can move on to their purchase or next stage of life.  

Note, if you really want the home this is not advisable as too low of an offer could offend the seller and they can choose to not work with you as a buyer.

-Play the odds

THE WINNER'S CURSE

A win is a win!

SELLERS/BUYERS

The winner's curse is less a tip or strategy as it is a psychological hurdle. Have you ever received exactly what you wanted only to be left wondering, could I have gotten more? If so, you have experienced the winner's curse. 


When sellers accept a buyer's first offer, the buyer wonders if they should have offered less. When a seller's home sells right away, they wonder if they should have asked more. 

9 Times out of 10 you got what you wanted because you did everything right! You priced perfectly or you offered exactly the right price.

- Jump for joy! You did everything right

THE MAGIC WORDS

Everyone wants the same thing

SELLERS/BUYERS

In real estate we are all after a common goal. Buyers want to buy and sellers want to sell. We need to respect each other's needs and have our negotiation come from the right place.

Make sure you let the other party know you are coming from a place of "Mutual Purpose" and "Respect" 

Mutual Purpose means that others perceive that we are working toward a common outcome in the conversation, that we care about their goals, interests, and values. And
vice versa. We believe they care about ours” - Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When the Stakes are High.