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Real deals on Charleston real estate

Everyone seems to have an opinion on how much you should pay for a home. Someone told me the other day that someone told them that they should be able to buy a home for sale in Charleston from 10 to 20 percent off list price.

Well, take this house ... or take that house ... please.

Charleston homes for saleLet's talk about two homes for sale in Charleston. House A was originally listed one year ago for $299,900 and the price has been reduced to $279,900. House B was originally listed 6 months ago for $269,900 and consistently reduced in price to a current price of $199,900.

I think you know where I'm going with this.

You may (or may not) be able to buy House A for 10 to 20 percent off but it really isn't very likely that you could purchase House B for anything resembling that kind of discount. The price you pay should be based on the value you perceive, not how much below list price you can get it for. After all, 20% off $279,900 is $223,920 and that is still more than $20,000 higher than the other house.

With so many homes for sale in Charleston, the real deals on Charleston real estate are not necessarily big discounts. Think about the price instead of the discount in order to get the best deal.

And that still doesn't mean you have to necessarily pay list price. 

Published Wednesday, February 18, 2009 6:24 AM by Howard Arnoff

Comments

# re: Real deals on Charleston real estate

Howard you give great insight on how to buy a house and as a future buyer in this market I find your suggestions very valuable. I entirely agree that the perception of the value of the house should be the deciding factor, not the discount. A simple analogy matches the behaviors of a department store that has a 50% off sell for clothing that no one wants.  If I like a house, I am willing to pay the right price or less. And since everybody characterizes the status of the real estate as a buyers’ market, I expect some offers and discounts.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 9:36 AM by dan

# re: Real deals on Charleston real estate

Dan, thanks very much and I especially like your department store analogy although once in a while I do pick through the rack and actually find something.

Of course, the big question on everyones mind with housing is at what price is there a real value.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 10:26 AM by Howard Arnoff
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