More and more sellers (and their agents) are realizing that to be able to sell their properties in today’s market, they’re having to reduce prices and, frequently, offer seller financing.
I was reading a recent article about how even the super wealthy are feeling the pinch of the ever softening real estate market:
Rich and Famous Slash Prices on Their Mansions but Many Also Hold Out for Top Price
I thought one of the last lines of the article was funny…
“While many home sellers can be slow to adjust to the market, the very wealthy can be the slowest of all.
Still, it’s a rule of thumb that the longer a listing lingers, the less desirable it often seems to buyers.”
I guess most super wealthy people have the luxury of being slow to respond to changes in the market, and that’s fine… probably frustrating for their real estate agent, but more power to them if they can hold out for their perfect picture, or hold on forever, whichever comes first.
But if you really do need to sell your high-end home, you’re going to have to be responsive with a combination of price reductions and flexibility. When a buyer does not have to arrange bank financing to purchase your home, they’re going to pay a higher price, and you’ll have more buyers to choose from.
Being flexible means being willing and able to lend a buyer some of your equity and/or your existing financing ….if it’s attractive… yes, only good-looking loans wanted 🙂
We frequently use the Title Holding (Land) Trust in these situations, which also has the added benefit of deferring any applicable capital gains for the seller.
Occasionally, when we are brought in to engineer the transaction, we can help these sellers create notes that they can sell to raise more cash than was available at closing from the buyer’s down payment.