When someone likes a house, how long does it take to make an offer?

Question

My brother had an open house yesterday and one person seems so very interested and even the agent thought he would get an offer today, but he's worried he has not heard anything. He has a new job out of state and needs to sell. House is priced right and in mint condition. Any RE agents out there that can give some insight?

Answer 1

Just because someone says they are interested in the house doesn't always equate to them making an offer. Sometimes buyers will seem interested and will put your home on their list of homes but decide on something better especially with the amount of homes for sale nowadays.  Many times people will go to an open house just to be a "looky lou". If the person really wanted the home he would have had an offer  within one day. Keep in mind, some of these people that come to open homes try to get a feel on how desperate the owner is to sell so they can low ball them. Often times, investors are looking to make a quick buck off an unsuspecting person.  

Answer 2

This is what baffels my husband and I every day in this business. We have found that a lot of folks like to "think about it' for a while.  Don't ask me why, makes no sense to me. If the property fits all thier needs and wants, then what is there to think about? We don't get it either.  But chances are if you don't hear within 36 hours you aren't going to hear anything. And this also relates to getting any feedback about your property from either the agent or the buyers.  Go figure!

Answer 3

When a man likes a woman, how long does it take to make an offer? He might shop around a little. He might fool around a little. He might see what upgrades he can get. He might try to sweeten the deal.

House buying is a lot like that. During the open house people traipse through and some show a lot of emotion, much more than they truly feel. And, in desperation, the other party takes that first blush to be something more than a temporary hormonal imbalance.

There is a lot of competition out there. Did your brother's place put on a small black dress for the showing, or was it wearing a house coat?

Answer 4

Since there's no sense of urgency on the buyer's part right now it could take a couple weeks or not at all.

Answer 5

Many 'interested people' never write an offer.  While they may seem very interested, they are still looking, and another house may have taken their fancy over what they previously viewed.

Tell your brother to take a chill pill until he gets something in writing.  THAT indicates interest.

Answer 6

Sometimes it can take a couple of days sometimes it's right away.  Just because a person seemed interested doesn't mean they'll make an offer.  It also depends on the market, if it's a buyers market then he's got a lot to choose from so it might be a while, if it's a sellers market then it could be very quick because he might be competing against multiple offers like when I sold my condo.  If the market is saturated right now with homes for sale, it doesn't matter how well priced his house is or how good of a condition, sometimes they just don't move.

Answer 7

It could take a while.  Sometimes the buyer is waiting till he sees some other houses or he could be waiting to get pre-approved for his mortgage  before he makes and offer.  He could just be busy.

I know when I put my offer in on a house recently it was almost a week after we saw the house.

Answer 8

It depends where they are in their looking process and how pressured they are to move themselves.

There's a lot of inventory out there so buyers can afford to take their time. If they're early in the process it could take several days to a week, or never if they find a home they like better. If they're at the end they could offer quickly.

In the meantime your brother needs to keep showing his home. He may get lucky and snare another interested buyer, in which case this could be incentive for this "potential" buyer to move on their offer.

Answer 9

I have seen people take a week to decide to buy or not....and look at it 3 or 4 more times. buying a home is a BIG deal and some people may be reluctant to buy quickly in todays market.....patience is a virtue...they will also check on insurance, prop taxes , the area economy , schools and all that stuff not to mention they need to make sure financing in place. Good luck

Answer 10

Insight to the mind of a mad man.... God only knows.... I had people ask me 100 question, 1 lady demand I leave my curtains... another my rugs- none of which even bid on the home after fighting with me about the price and what I would leave in the home.  I even had people offer me money for things in the home- like I was having a yardsale.....

Then I had a very quite man look at the home in the early morning and to my surprise- he didn't say a word to me, not a peep and bid on the house.

You just NEVER know.  

Answer 11

I'm not an agent. But, I have spent a lot of time on the other side of the transaction equation (a potential buyer).

If the buyer has an agent, that agent can get in contact with the seller's agent to find out if there are any offers on the property yet. If so, the buyer may be more inclined to make an immediate offer, so he doesn't get aced out by the first offer. If there are no offers on that property yet, the buyer is probably looking around to see what else is available for that price before making an offer.

Also, even though someone might be at an open house and be all ga-ga about the property, it could be that they're actually not serious about buying yet, if at all (looky-loos who like to talk the talk).

Any time I've ever seen a property that I liked and was serious about purchasing, I sent in an offer that day or the next. I've also seen a lot of properties that looked very attractive and expressed that to the selling agent, only to see another one later that day that looked better.

Your brother should not get his hopes up too high about a potential buyer until the offer sheet comes across the table. Just like buyers shouldn't get their hopes up too high when submitting an offer until it gets accepted. Otherwise you'll drive yourself crazy on an emotional roller coaster of excitement and disappointment, either as a buyer or a seller. And, I'm kind of surprised your brother's agent didn't take that approach to this potential buyer.

Answer 12

An offer itself takes less than an hour to write up.  You brother's broker should contact the other party and get some feedback and invite them to make an offer.  This can give him an idea of when or if an offer is forthcoming.  Cheers!