How to Negotiate in Real Estate:

To encourage a seller to take you up on your offer, you have to do more than just propose their asking price. You need to be armed with great negotiation skills to buy the house you want in the event that the seller is hard to please, or if you’re competing with a lot of other buyers. These are some of the things that you need to do to ensure the success of your real estate negotiation.

Maintain a poker face – One part of being an effective negotiator is keeping a straight face even if you’re bursting with joy at the sight of the house. When you’re overly excited while attending a showing, there is a risk that you’ll jump into a decision that you’ll end up regretting afterwards. Moreover, when a seller sees how happy you are with their house, they will take this as a sign that they’ll have no problem convincing you to give them what they want.
Offer a fair price from the start – Oddly enough, there are still individuals who are convinced that making an offer way below the asking price is the way to get the homeowner to sell to them. Although this technique works in extremely rare situations, you need to choose when to do it. If the seller is at an advantage due to, for instance, great home value or a seller’s market, be sure that your offer is good enough to impress him. Craft an offer based on how much other properties in the area that are similar to the homeowner’s are being sold for.
Keep the peace – No one wants to be threatened or bullied, and owners of houses for sale are no different. You’d be surprised to know that there are homeowners who will refuse to sell to a nasty buyer, as attractive as his offer may be. Always begin negotiations calmly, make sure that your answers are well-mannered and listen to what the seller has to say.

By the way, don’t think that pretending to have another home seller on hold will work in your favor; if the seller has a lot of offers on the table, it would be easy enough to dismiss yours.
Be flexible – In any real estate deal, it’s almost impossible that both a seller and a buyer will get absolutely everything they want. Ideally, a win-win situation with result with the buyer and the seller receiving what they came for: a house for the buyer and a great profit for the owner. If you’re still hoping that the seller will lower his asking price, convince him that if he repairs what needs to be fixed, you’ll pay part of the closing costs. If the problem is that he wants to close soon but you want more time, find a date that’s midway between the dates that each of you proposed.
Look at things from the seller’s perspective – One important aspect of buying a house is gaining the seller’s trust, and you can do this by viewing things from where they stand. This is not to say that you need to open up completely to each other, but it is necessary for you to comprehend what is important to the seller so that, as a buyer, you don’t risk overstepping your limits. Any seller will say that their home is where they created a lot of important memories, which is why a lowball offer gets them all riled up. There are also some instances where a seller has looked past the buyer’s offer and had sold to them based on their religious belief or because the seller saw himself in the buyer when he was younger. sWoods