Buyers Gain More Negotiating Power in December 2009; Florida, Northeast Buyers Still Bargaining the Most

RISMEDIA, February 8, 2010—For the first time in 11 months, buyers gained some negotiation power in December 2009, according to real estate website Zillow.com. Home buyers negotiated a median 2.7%, or $5,618, off the last listing price of homes sold in December, up slightly from 2.6% or $5,538 in November 2009. Zillow calculates this by comparing the last listing price of individual homes and their final sale price.

The data shows that this is still far less than what buyers were negotiating off the listing price at this time last year. In December 2008, home buyers bargained a median 4.5%, or $10,018, off the last listing price.

Buyers in the Vero Beach, Fla. metropolitan statistical area were again most firmly in the driver’s seat and negotiated a median 8.8% off the last listing price. To see how well buyers across the country were able to negotiate, see the entire list.

In many markets in California, sellers continued to be in the driver’s seat, and homes often sold for more than asking price. Many of these markets were among the hardest-hit in the country by the housing downturn, and foreclosure re-sales make up more than 50% of all home sales in most of these areas.

Listing prices across the nation showed a slight increase December, with the median price of homes listed on Zillow at $209,900. That marks a 0.4% increase since November, but a decrease of 6.7% since December 2009. Be sure to check out the full report on the Zillow Blog.

For more information, visit www.Zillow.com.