A frequent question asked in today’s real estate market is “How much will a lender or bank discount the list price of a foreclosed single family home which they own in the Naples area?”

One individual stated that banks are selling these properties with a discount of 25% from the list price or 75% of the list price.

In today’s real estate and traditionally over the past decade, it has the practice of lenders, banks and REO (real estate owned) service companies to request either an appraisal of the home by an appraiser or a broker’s price opinion (BPO), perpared by a real estate broker or agent, for the subject home to determine the estimated market value. Periodically, during the time the home is for sale, the estimated market value is reassessed using a BPO.

A study of closed sales during the month of February 2009 for Naples single family homes did not support this statement. The actual difference in terms of percentage between sales price and list price was 10.16 percent or 89.16 percent from the current list price. When looking at the original list price the sales price to list price ration was 18.45 percent or 81.55 percent.

Prior to making a purchase a prospective buyer should have a comparative market analysis done rather than looking at the list price and have a pre-determined percentage of discount from the list price set in their minds. The above percentages between sales price and list price can be used only as a guide in opening the negotiation process.