You have been looking at houses for a while now... and some have come close to what you're looking for... but none have been quite right.

Until this one.  A new listing hit this morning and we hurried out to see it this afternoon.  You love the house.  It offers just what you are looking for and is in great condition and you love the lot and neighborhood.

There's just one problem...

 

It is reasonable to think the house is worth $425,000... but the owners have priced it at $435,000.

(As an aside - yes, I realize value is not always quite this precise, specific and objectively measured, but roll with me for the moment.)

So... the perfect house, worth $425K is offered for sale for $435K.

What would you choose to do?

Option 1 - Do nothing, because you don't want to pay $435K and you figure someone probably will pay the price.  I'm guessing you won't choose this option because we've been looking for a while and this house is a much better fit for you than the others we have considered.

Option 2 - Make an offer of $425K (or lower) and try to negotiate the price down to where you believe it should be.  We could do this... and you might choose to do this... but it is a brand new listing, and if there is the potential for other competing buyer interest then this strategy will likely lead to you not buying the house.  The lower than list price offer on Day 1 will likely result in the seller waiting to respond, hoping to gather a few more offers from other buyers.

Option 3 - Willingly, knowingly, slightly overpaying for the house.  This can sometimes be the right option to pursue.  If the price is "close enough" and the house is very, very right enough - it might not be worth trying to negotiate $5K or $10K off of the list price.  Offer the list price, make it a clean offer, hope the seller will decide to move forward with you and not pursue other offers... and know that you are paying a bit more than maybe you "should" but it is for a great house!