Bargain hunters, get ready
Today, Zillow.com and Good Morning America uncovered what they’ve deemed the “Top 10 cities to bargain for a house.”
Zillow said that to determine the list, several factors were considered “including where buyers were able to negotiate the biggest discount off the last list price, days listed on Zillow, Zillow Home Value Index, and percentage of foreclosure resales.”
The top ten cities:
- Naples, FL
- Cape Cod, MA
- Charleston, SC
- Merced, CA
- Chicago, IL
- Atlantic City, NJ
- Cleveland, OH
- New York City, NY
- Flagstaff, AZ
- Pittsburgh, PA
Each of these cities is quite different than the other, not only in the makeup of each metro area, but in their median prices, average style of home, lifestyle offerings and more, yet the indices show negotiation power for buyers in these areas- in the #1 city, buyers average the ability to negotiate 7% off of the home price.
If you practice in one of these areas, do you find home prices negotiated down frequently? What other factors would you look at for a list such as this?
Benjamin Ficker
February 17, 2010 at 1:25 am
“Each of these cities is quite different than the other…”
Except for #9 and #14…
The seem awfully similar to me…
Benn Rosales
February 17, 2010 at 1:34 am
Corrected, thanks, Benjamin.
Joe Loomer
February 17, 2010 at 6:58 am
is there a “Carleston” in South Carolina? Or is it Charleston? Might sound like I’m being sarcastic but you never know about town names here in the South!
If you missed it – our area is where one of the two new Nuclear Power Plants will be built near Waynesboro, Georgia. I expect Augusta may end up on the hottest markets list within the year.
Navy Chief, Navy Pride
mWoods
February 17, 2010 at 2:33 pm
I wish they would have been a bit more specific. Saying 7% off list price is very one dimensional in this business. Is that original list price or perhaps they had price reductions?
Also, were seller’s concessions, if any, factored in?
Mike Ciucci
February 22, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Glad to see that Charleston has made this list…or am I? Well one thing’s for sure- real estate sure is picking up down here.
Nashville Grant
February 24, 2010 at 4:54 pm
What about Sarasota, FL? Fortune Mag consistently ranks that area quite high.
Nashville Grant
February 26, 2010 at 1:39 pm
How can Cleveland be both Zillow’s #7 best city and Forbes’ #1 most miserable city in the US? So you feel good about your real estate purchase for several seconds and then you get all miserable after? Awe, poor Cleveland.
Katie Clancy
March 11, 2010 at 9:40 pm
Hey-
I’m a Cape Cod Realtor. That 5% difference has been pretty standard for years. I’m intrigued by the fact that this is a notable stat. Of particular interest to me is the fact that even during the recession and through the ups and downs of the past few years, 4%-6% has been the magic number.
It begs new questions: what are the national stats, is this a phenomenon unique to resort/retirement areas, etc.
Thoughts?