Had a realtor tell me to lowball on a Victoria condo and I lost it

My cousin works in sales and swore I had to offer $50k under asking on a 2 bedroom in Victoria back in March. I followed her advice because she sold real estate in Ontario years ago. The seller didn't even counter, just went with another buyer who came in at asking. Condo prices in that building went up 8% since then and now I'm priced out. Has anyone else had bad luck taking advice from friends who worked in a different market?

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theathomas1d ago

The cousin factor is real but the issue is you trusted someone who last sold houses when interest rates were 3% and buyers had all the power. Markets flip fast. I bought a place in the Okanagan last summer and my buddy from Toronto kept pushing me to offer 30k under and wait them out. Turned out the building had multiple offers already and I had to scramble to match asking plus some. The real trick nobody talks about is that lowballing works better in slow winter months when sellers are desperate, not in spring when everyone and their dog is buying.