Real estate purchase: three tips for negotiating a nice discount with the seller

Like agency fees, the price of the accommodation you want is most of the time negotiable. Especially in the middle of a real estate crisis, when properties are struggling to sell.

The drop in credit rates, which fell in September to an average of 3.60% over a 20-year period, has made you decide to take the plunge into purchasing a home. But, even if, at the same time, the prices of old real estate fell by almost 4% in the first half of 2024, over one year, according to Fnaim (national real estate federation), this “purchase of a lifetime” remains a considerable investment. Did you know that, in the same way that you can negotiate agency fees and (a little) notary fees, the price of the good itself is negotiable ?

Don’t you dare? You are wrong: after two years of a real estate crisis which should see the year 2024 end with fewer than 800,000 sales in existing properties, buyers have regained control ! According to the barometer of the real estate price observatory and IAD, presented on September 4, the negotiation margins for buyers in existing properties have never been so high in 15 years, at 7.6%. on average. In detail, the discounts granted by sellers amount to -8.3% for houses and 6.7% for apartments. Capital gives you three tips for negotiating the purchase price of the home you want.

Ask yourself if this is a forced sale

First of all, “look how long the property has been on sale, advises Eric Allouche, executive director of the ERA real estate agency network. If it has been on the market for at least a year, the seller will probably be more inclined to negotiate.. All real estate agents will tell you that if an advert drags on on their front, it is simply because the property is too expensive compared to the market price. Six months ago, many sellers still had 2021 prices in mind, when credit rates did not exceed 1%. Today, after the educational efforts made by real estate agents, some sellers have finally understood that these blessed times are over and that they will have to make concessions on the price in order to sell.

Another track, try to find out if the property is being sold as part of an inheritance. The sale of an inherited property must in fact be carried out within six months following the death, so that its proceeds can pay the inheritance costs owed to the tax authorities. Otherwise, the heirs face financial penalties. In the current context of the real estate crisis, you can negotiate a discount of 5% on average, estimates ERA. More broadly, try to find out if the property you are eyeing is transferred in the case of a forced sale, such as a divorce or a transfer. In a hurry to sell to acquire another home, sellers could give you the discount you want.

A discount on thermal strainers

Finally, to obtain a gesture from the seller, track down thermal strainers, advises the Laforêt network. Properties labeled G on the DPE (energy performance diagnosis) will no longer be able to be rented from January 1, 2025. If their owner-landlords do not have the means to invest a few tens of thousands of euros in their renovation, it is quite possible that he will sell them. Hence the possibility, for you, the buyer, of negotiating a discount, which Laforêt estimates at around 5%. Let’s take the example of a property sold for 200,000 euros. By negotiating a 5% discount, you will get it at 190,000 euros. A saving of 10,000 eurosit’s always a catch!

You now have all the cards in hand to negotiate the price of the property of your dreams. One last piece of advice: don’t delay! “In September, we again saw sales blocked because sellers understood that buyers were regaining some purchasing power thanks to the drop in credit rates. As a result, they no longer want to make any effort by lowering their prices…”regrets Jordan Frarier, president of Foncia Transaction. “Sellers must be right and do not increase their price if they really want to sell”adds Charles Marinakis, head of the Century 21 France real estate agency network. Who wishes to emphasize that, “contrary to popular belief, the historic drop in rates has benefited sellers more than buyers!” How? By allowing them to increase their selling prices.