I was talking to one of the other Agents on Hilton Head who had just made a sale on a 4th row house in Sea Pines Plantation.  I asked him how he put the transaction together and he said “my buyer was looking for a screaming deal and he would only buy if he found one”.  I asked how he would describe a “screaming deal” and he answered that he did not know, but it was just the term his buyer used.

It seems like in a slow real estate market the only buyers are people looking for a deal.  If you are a seller you have to make your property a “deal” or nobody is going to buy it. 

I think the buyer’s logic is that there are a lot more sellers than there are buyers so therefore he would only buy if he felt like he was getting a property that was significantly below market value or what it sold for one or two years ago.

The problem that arises with this is when you have several “screaming deals” sell it sets the tone of the market.  The appraisers use those as comparable sales and when new buyers come along they say that they are not going to pay any more than the last buyer.  It sets prices in a downward spiral.

You also run into a problem where you are competing with foreclosures.  Most banks will want to get a property sold within 60 days and will adjust the price accordingly.  The the “regular sellers” have to compete with the bank. 

If you are a buyer, this is good because there are several “screaming deals” out there in today’s real estate market.