“Something very strange just happened and Id like your comments. My wife and I listed our home and after a couple of weeks we got two decent offers the same day. Since we had two buyers on the hook, so to speak, we took our time and countered back at our full list price. To our surprise, both buyers walked. We had our agent call their agents and tell them we were open to a counter-offer, but neither buyer would come back to the bargaining table. What do you think happened?
***ANSWER:
Buying and selling can be an emotional roller coaster.
Theres a very curious human psychological event that often happens when people are trying to buy a home. Ill call it Rejected Buyers Remorse.
You may have heard of Buyers Remorse. Someone buys a home (or anything), then gets cold feet and talks himself out of it.
With REJECTED Buyers Remorse, a couple doesnt get (or doesnt THINK theyre getting) a home they want. This causes them to experience cognitive dissonance, the stress of holding two conflicting thoughts: specifically I want it and I cant have it.
To end that stress, they rationalize reasons that theyre better off without the home. They think We were paying too much, or We didnt like the neighborhood anyway.
Your slow response or high counter-offer likely made your two buyers think they werent going to get the home. So their Rejected Buyers Remorse kicked in and they convinced themselves they didnt want it.
My advice is that you usually should respond quickly and not come back too strong unless youre OK with losing that potential buyer.
