Should You Offer Above or Below Asking Price When You Buy a Home in Aspen?

If you’re thinking about buying a home for sale in Aspen, you and your agent will tour all the homes you’re interested in – and when you find one you love, your REALTOR® will tell you to make an offer. But when you make an offer, should you go above or below asking price? Here’s what you need to know.

Every situation is different, so there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to whether you should offer above or below asking price when you buy a home in Aspen. However, there are pros and cons to each, which this guide explains.
Related: Does a seller have to accept the highest offer on a home?

Risks of Offering Anything Other Than Asking Price

If you offer too much when the seller would’ve accepted less, you’re going to kick yourself – but if you offer too little, you risk offending the seller or losing out to a higher offer. It’s absolutely essential that you rely on your REALTOR’s expertise here; you don’t want to make the wrong choice in either direction.
Related: Avoid these three big mistakes when you make your offer

How to Decide Whether to Offer Above or Below Asking Price

You and your REALTOR should have a serious discussion to consider things like:

Whether it’s a buyer’s market or a seller’s market. If you’re in a buyer’s market, you hold a slight advantage. There are more homes for sale than there are people to purchase them, which means that the seller may be willing to accept less than the home’s asking price. However, if you’re in a seller’s market, the seller is at an advantage. There are more buyers than there are homes available, and that means other buyers will be willing to pay more for the same house.
How long the listing has been active. If the home has been for sale for ten minutes, an offer lower than asking price is probably going to be rejected outright. That’s because sellers know that more buyers will come, particularly during the first month. However, if the home has been for sale for two months, the seller may be willing to accept less than asking price simply because he or she is ready to be done with the deal.
Whether the home is fairly priced. Your agent will tell you, based on other homes that have sold recently, whether the home is priced just right, too high, or too low – and you can use that information to make a smarter offer.
How badly you want the home. If you know that you can’t live without this particular house, you may want to offer over asking price. However, if you wouldn’t be bummed if the seller turned down your offer, and if there are other homes you like just as much, you may decide to offer asking price or just below it.

Are You Selling or Buying a Home in Aspen?

If you’re ready to sell your home in Aspen, Woody Creek, Basalt, Carbondale or Snowmass, we may be able to help you.
Get in touch with us right now to find out how much your home is worth – and discover how we’ll be able to help you sell it quickly and for top dollar.
If you’re also looking for a home for sale in Aspen or a nearby community, check out our listings by price: