Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Home buyers offer 30% less than asking price from the outset

In the first week of the year, the few people who have voiced interest in acquiring apartments in Bucharest, have in a first stage offered 30-50% less than prices requested by the owners, given the almost entire lack of real estate transactions due to problems on the lending market, as well as to the rapid depreciation of the RON, according to real estate agents. "There are people interested in homes, but they are still hoping prices will go further down, with some of them additionally being scared by the rise in the euro. We had a three-room apartment in the Aviatiei area, for which the owners were asking 150,000 euros, and a client's first offer was 100,000 euros. Still, I haven't heard of transactions being concluded in the first week of the year," said Elena Usainchisa, broker with Nick Intermed agency, which posted turnover worth 285,000 euros in 2007. "From a buyer's position, under the current market conditions, I offer a 50% lower price for any acquisition. There are many owners faced with a liquidity crisis, who are forced to enter talks. They, in turn, have one price for those who only ask and another for those interested in buying," says Gabriel Dragomir, partner with DPA Estate and former senior broker with Indoors Real Estate.

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Source: http://www.zf.ro/zf-english/home-buyers-offer-30-less-than-asking-price-from-the-outset-3736775/