Seller's Prepare yourself: The 'rat-tat-tat' sound you just heard may not be from neighborhood carolers or Santa's reindeer on your roof, but from a qualified buyer ready to make a deal on your property. Buyer's prepare yourself to negotiate a great price for your Carlsbad Dream Home. Welcome to the best buying month of the year. December.

If you have not followed real estate lately; welcome back. Although inventory has been at record high levels, the average sales price in Carlsbad has remained stable throughout the year. During the summer, Seller's began offering more incentives to Buyer's and their agents in order to help sell their property, but have been unwilling to sell their property at a discount. This month will bring change.

With the school term in full-swing and the hustle of the holiday season, Buyer's are less likely to purchase a home. November and December have seen as much as a 30% decrease in the number of sales compared to the months prior. Inventory also builds up from unsold homes during the summer months. With more homes currently on the market and less buyers to compete with, those looking to buy a home will have more choices and more bargaining power during December. Non-contingent buyers have a great opportunity to purchase their home at a great price.

Negotiating a home successfully should leave everyone feeling like winners, which is the goal. There is no correct method for presenting an lower-than asking price offer, except that it must be handled skillfully. Similar to a lawyer building a strong case, make your offer with the idea that it will be accepted. Wishful thinking with an unreasonable offer will result in a less-than ideal result.

Proceed with caution with lower-than-asking price offers. Even though the home has been the best investment in the portfolio of Carlsbad households, this does not mean that presenting an offer should be treated as a business transaction, void of emotion. This is a family's home. If you offend the seller, whether by making an offer too low or with disagreeable terms, there will be repercussions. Also, take into account external motivating factors; ie. Divorce, Probate, Corporate relocation or force sales. These will affect the sellers motivation to sell their property.

Although your price may be lower than what the Seller is expecting, create a stronger offer by removing contingencies from your contract. Present your offer with a pre-approval letter from a lender in order to show that you have strong financial capability. Write your time-frames around their situation. Closing in 30 days as opposed to 60 may hold intrinsic value to the seller.

Write your offer taking into account the holidays and give enough time to respond, however create urgency with your offer. Utilize the knowledge of a successful, seasoned professional to determine what leverage, if any, you have in making an offer. In your offer, amend the standard 72 hour time-frame the Seller will have to response to your offer to 24 hours. Consider that a majority of Buyer's will conduct their housing searches on the weekend, so plan on finalizing your negotiations before the weekend. The offer you have submitted can and will be used to move another interested party to submit an offer. This will compromise your bargaining power.

No. You must consider what a property is worth to you, before you begin negotiations. Real Estate is not strictly an investment or business commodity. If this is the home that you have been looking for, do not miss the opportunity you have for a few thousand dollars.

Seller's must keep in mind that inventory increases during the first months of the new year, which could make it more difficult to sell. It may be ideal to finish negations at a fair price rather than delay until the new year. Here is the good news that you do not know: The recently record-high inventory has actually started its seasonal decrease. Although the number of sales decreases in the winter months, so does the number of homes for sale. As of November 23, there are 458 detached homes for sale in Carlsbad, down from a high of 515 in late October. This creates opportunity for sellers who have their home on the market during the hustle of the holiday season. The decrease in homes for sale means less competition and a better chance that their home will sell.