How Real Estate Negotiation Actually Works
Negotiation is the part of this job I care about most, because it is where your money is actually made or lost. It is not about being aggressive. It is about leverage, timing, and keeping the deal together.
The offer is more than a price
A strong offer or counter accounts for far more than the top-line number: the financing, the contingencies, the timing, and the terms that matter to the other side. Understanding what the seller or buyer actually wants is how you craft something that wins without overpaying or overexposing yourself.
The inspection response is the second negotiation
Most people think the negotiation ends when the offer is accepted. It does not. The inspection response (the BINSR in Arizona) is a second, often larger negotiation, and it is where deals get saved or lost. Staying calm and strategic here, rather than emotional, is what protects your number. That is the moment 24 years of doing this earns its keep.
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Written by
Jon Hegreness
REALTOR / Associate Broker, Howe Realty. AZ License BR540940000. 24 years in Phoenix Valley residential real estate.
I am a full-time Valley broker, not a call center. If anything here raised a question about your own move, ask me and you get a straight answer from the person who wrote this, every time.
Common questions
- Is a more aggressive negotiator better?
- No. The best outcome comes from understanding leverage, timing, and what the other side actually wants, then staying calm under pressure. Aggression often kills deals that patience would have closed.
- When is the most important moment to negotiate?
- Two moments: the initial offer or counter, and the inspection response. The second one surprises people, and it is frequently where the most money moves. I handle both deliberately.
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