What to expect in real estate negotiations

Many people assume the behind scenes home purchase contract negotiations taking place between buyer and seller agents is hard nosed, aggressive, and something out of a Hollywood movie. While situations like this will come up for any agent doing business long enough, I'm here to tell you that the negotiations are actually quite civil and harmonious.

I will preface this by stating the current market conditions will dictate which side opens with leverage. Generally, in the end, everybody is working towards the same goal. The seller wants to sell their house and a buyer wants to buy it. Already both parties are entering into a win-win negotiation. It's just a matter of reaching agreeable terms.

Currently the Seattle housing market is a heavily dominated sellers market. We all know sellers are receiving multiple offers, homes are selling over asking price, and buyers are waiving many, if not all, contingencies just to have their offer considered.

In this current market there's really not much negotiating going on between the two parties. With sellers having their pick of which offer to accept, buyers are often wiling to accommodate any term to make their offer more likely to be accepted.

The opposite could be said during the recession when the pendulum was swung the other way and it was buyers who had the leverage.

In any market, price and contingency terms are the two most negotiated items within a standard purchase and sale agreement. Buyer agents want to to offer as much protection to their clients as possible and will try to fit in as many contingencies, or "outs", into a contract. Conversely, a listing agent wants to remove as many contingencies as possible to minimize the amount of "outs" a buyer has.

Or, they might try to shorten the time windows for these contingencies.

Again, it's very unusual for these negotiations to become uncivil or contentious when ultimately both parties are working towards the same goal. However, it's important to understand the need of your clients and to recognize when a current negotiation might be heading south. But there's no reason for animosity assuming both parties keep everything professional.