Definition of "Ask price"

Nelson Montanez  real estate agent

Written by

Nelson Montanez elite badge icon

Brass Moon Realty

Ask Price is the initial listed price for a piece of real estate.

It’s important to understand that, in the real estate world, there’s no such thing as a fixed price when buying or selling a property. Fixed price is a concept you can only apply when the product in question has scale, so you might have a fixed price on rental properties of a building, however, when buying or selling a property, the homeowner does not set a price so an interested home buyer can acquire it by merely paying that value.

It is more of a bargaining routine, where the home seller sets a price - the so-called ask price - he/she believes corresponds to the worth of the property. Then, it’s up to the interested home buyer to make his/her own assessment of worth - the so-called offer price - and make an offer to the home seller. If both agree to it - the so-called Fair Market Value - the house is sold.

Although the asking price is thoroughly studied by the homeowner and the professionals surrounding him/her - especially the agents and the Appraiser - the most common scenario is to have the home buyer offering a lower amount of money than the one the home seller set as the property’s asking price. When that happens, the home seller usually makes a counteroffer and both of them go back and forth until they can agree on a fair market value for the property.

There are sometimes when you’re in a Seller’s Market or the house is so unique, that a home buyer might make an offer higher than the ask price in order to secure the house. It’s rare, but it happens.

Real Estate Advice:

Take a look at our Real Estate FAQs. Maybe the answer to those frequently asked questions will help you understand the big picture better.

And check 
The OFFICIAL Real Estate Agent Directory® to find an agent to help you with whatever you can't find on our website (if that's possible!)

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

Way to determine the capitalization rate of income property for valuation purposes by weighting the rate of interest and source of financing in percentage terms. ...

Latin term meaning something in exchange for something else. For example, a person rushes through an order for another in return for having first choice in selecting a parcel of ...

(1) Supporting the joists of a floor with small pieces of wood. (2) Providing temporary financing such as a short-term loan, to a real estate developer before long-term financing can be ...

Appraisal method that examines current and future economic conditions in a particular location to help in deriving property values ...

See Board of Equalization. ...

Insects that destroy the support wood in the structure of a building. Termite inspection should be periodically performed to detect their existence. If an infestation is confirmed, the ...

Relationship between individuals or entities whereby rights given to one are returned in kind to the other. An example is where one person has the right to use facilities of another with ...

3D Printed Homes are basically homes that were printed via 3D Printers. Though semantically the phrase is pretty obvious and straightforward, there’s a lot we need to contextualize ...

State laws limiting the interest rate that can be charged to individuals borrowing money in that state. These laws affect all lenders in a state regardless of what federal or state agency ...

Popular Real Estate Questions