Rant: My uncle told me to offer 20k over asking on a house in Edmonton and I almost did it

So my uncle Gary is this retired guy who thinks he knows everything about real estate because he bought a house in 1987. He kept telling me that in Edmonton you have to offer way over asking or you'll never get a place, especially with how hot the market was last year. I was looking at a bungalow in Mill Woods listed at 310k and he pushed me to offer 330k right off the bat. Lucky for me I ignored him and asked my realtor to check recent sales in the area. Turns out that house had been sitting for 3 weeks already and the seller was getting nervous, so I got it for 305k. Uncle Gary still thinks I got lucky but I think he's just stuck in the old days of insane bidding wars. Has anyone else had a family member give you terrible real estate advice that you almost followed?

2 comments

2 Comments

henrygrant1mo ago

Yeah the problem with "offer over asking" advice is it assumes the house is priced to start a bidding war, when a lot of sellers now just want it gone and list a fair price from the start. Your uncle probably didn't realize that three week old listing means you've got leverage, not the other way around.

victor2191mo ago

My neighbor actually did this exact thing with his condo in 2021. Listed it at 275k, which was totally fair for the area, and it sat for three weeks. He started getting anxious because his realtor kept saying "we should drop the price" but he held firm. Then a couple came in with an offer at 265k and my neighbor was so ready to just be done with it that he accepted right away. Meanwhile the couple told me later they were freaking out because they thought they lowballed too hard. So yeah, that leverage thing is real. Most people just want to move on with their lives after a few weeks of showings and cleaning.