Time costs money in the R.E. market

Time plays a very crucial role in selling a building. Offers seem to go down quicker then they go up. A potential buyer is excited about a deal and has done their research. The offer that they present will only be good for a short period of time. Building sellers need to realize this may be their only chance to move the building. We see sellers losing deals almost weekly because they waited too long to accept an offer. For example, a buyer gives an offer to purchase a building 15% below the asking price. The seller rejects the offer or counters. Compared to market conditions and the building's future earning potential, the offer is in line. After a couple weeks, the seller comes back to accept the offer and the buyer has moved on or lowers the price stating conditions have gotten worse. The conclusion is time costs money. There are still a lot of real buyers in today's market, but time can be expensive. Sellers need to react quicker to offers or risk losing additional value to their property. Bart Zimmermann is president of Barcel Group Inc., New York, N.Y.