I pride myself on getting offers accepted. It brings me repeat and referral business; it puts food and an occasional glass of Pinot Noir on my table. Okay, that’s a gross exaggeration – I don’t cook. But I do eat out a lot, and being a top-producer does help pay the bills.

Today I’m just a bit frustrated. I’ve written 3 offers for Candy and Milt, and the first 2 were not accepted. When this happens, I always do a post mortem: I want to know why. Knowing how to write great offers, especially on bank-owned properties, is an art form. And I rule.

With the first home, the listing agent requested a prequal with a preferred lender. I sent the prequal we had, noting that we had a call in to this agent’s Bank of America buddy, and we’d forward the prequal as soon as we received it. Generally, the listing agent will wait for that prequal. This one didn’t, and my highly qualified buyers weren’t even considered after waiting 24 hours to hear from the loan officer. Bank of America blew that one – these buyers are solid gold, and are buying at least 4 homes this year. No Pinot Noir for that dawdling loan officer. And there’s an agent who’s being removed from my Christmas card list for not extending the courtesy of waiting for the specific prequal letter she demanded.

With the second home, our offer was $1000 over actual market value. It was a great investment home for my buyers, but it wasn’t worth list price. I don’t suggest offering less than list price if it’s accurately priced; however, this home was priced $4000 over recent comps. We came in $3000 under list and $1000 above market value, backed by a 25% down loan from a qualified buyer. I was shocked when we didn’t get a multiple offer notification or request for my client’s “highest-and-best” offer. The listing agent was also surprised that the selling bank didn’t ask for highest-and-best. We’ll probably pick this one up on the rebound in a few weeks, when it doesn’t appraise and falls out of escrow. It happens frequently.

When I have to write more than 1 or 2 offers for a client, it generally signals another slight shift in the way the market is trending. I sell enough homes that I’m writing and submitting offers every week; when I don’t hit the nail on the head, it’s either an anomaly or time to shift gears again.

In Candy and Milt’s case, it was just an anomaly. Two responses “out of the norm” in a row.

Just for fun, though, I had my Mad Researcher, Ron, pull some statistics. I hadn’t looked at list price vs. sales price in awhile. It’s the busy sales season, and we’re selling homes in near-record numbers in Las Vegas this summer. We should close the year out with close to 50,000 sales – but what are sellers getting for their homes right now?

Two years ago at this time, sellers were getting almost 103% of asking price. Buyers reacted to stabilizing REO prices in early 2009 by rushing back to the market, only to compete over a shortage of REOs. Only in a very hot market are buyers willing to pay $103 for every $100 the seller is seeking. Last summer, sellers were getting 99% of asking price; buyers were still looking for deals while expecting prices to slide again.

So what are buyers willing to pay this summer? The average sale price is now 98% of list price. For every $100 a seller is asking, buyers are willing to pay an average of $98. While some might consider this a cooling-down, sales are still brisk. You won’t see the fierce competition for homes that we experienced in the summer of 2009 and 2010. There are multiple offers on the better homes, but 2-4 offers instead of dozens.

Expect this to ease up somewhat in September, when fewer buyers are shopping. If you’re looking for a good deal, don’t lose patience – September could be your month.