In a buyer's market, the pressure is on the seller to come up with strategies to make his or her home look better than competing homes. To expedite a sale, the home must be priced well, and be appealing inside and out. The seller might have to paint, clean, do minor kitchen or bathroom work, add a family room, deck, fix the roof, replace windows and carpeting, add siding, or refinish a basement. Once a buyer is interested, the seller might have to accept less than he or she hoped for, plus toss in personal items like a refrigerator, washer and dryer, lawn furniture, lawnmower and other lawn equipment. In a seller's market, there aren't enough homes to satisfy every homebuyer.
Prices are usually sky high because of the dearth of inventory.
There isn't much room to negotiate in a seller's market. In fact, buyers may have to make extraordinary concessions to the seller, such as agreeing to the seller's closing date, offering to waive the financing, inspection and attorney contingencies, and even allow the seller to remove fixtures from the house. Obviously, buyers would rather buy in a buyer's market and sellers would rather sell in a seller's market, but, typically, we can't control when we're going to make the big move. Whether you're a buyer or seller, know the price you're looking for before the negotiating starts. In a hot buyer's market, you'll need to move quickly to secure the home you want.