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Buying your first home can feel confusing, overwhelming—and let’s be real, a little intimidating. Keys & Cafecito is here to change that.
Hosted by Realtor® Anna Franklin, this podcast breaks down the homebuying journey into clear, honest, and easy-to-digest episodes—perfect to enjoy with your morning cafecito. Whether you’re just starting to save, wondering if now’s the right time, or getting ready to make offers, you’ll get real talk, practical tips, and a little encouragement along the way.
Because your future keys? They’re closer than you think.
**KEYS & CAFECITO: How to Spot a Potential Great Deal in Today’s Market**
Welcome back to Keys & Cafecito, where we talk real estate without making it more complicated than it needs to be.
Today I want to talk to my buyers, because there are deals out there right now.
And when I say “deal,” I don't necessarily mean you're going to find a house for $150,000 under market value. Sometimes the deal isn't just the purchase price.
Sometimes the deal is getting the house for a little less **and** getting your closing costs paid.
Sometimes it's getting a repair credit.
Sometimes it's getting the seller to pay for a rate buy-down.
And sometimes, if we find the right property and the right seller, we might be able to negotiate a combination of those things.
So how do you know which houses might have some negotiating room?
There are a few clues I look for.
### NUMBER ONE: DAYS ON MARKET
Right now, a detached single-family home in San Diego County has recently been averaging around **35 days on market**.
So when I see a house that's been sitting for 45 days, 50 days, 60 days or longer, my ears perk up.
Because now I want to know:
**Why hasn't this house sold?**
That doesn't automatically mean there's something wrong with it.
Maybe it was overpriced.
Maybe the photos weren't great.
Maybe it needs cosmetic work.
Maybe the seller listed at a price the market simply wasn't willing to pay.
And remember: the market ultimately decides what a house is worth.
If buyers have had weeks to see a property and nobody has written an offer the seller is willing to accept, that's information.
And that information can potentially give us leverage.
### NUMBER TWO: PRICE REDUCTIONS
This is one of my favorites.
Let's say a house came on the market at $800,000.
Then they reduce it to $785,000.
A couple of weeks go by.
Now it's $770,000.
And it's **still sitting there.**
At this point, that seller has already publicly admitted twice that their original pricing strategy didn't work.
They may be starting to come to terms with the fact that the market has changed.
And they may really, really not want to do another public price reduction.
Because now we're talking about dropping the price again, changing it online again, and having every buyer who's watching that property see:
**Price reduced. Again.**
That's when I want to have a conversation with the listing agent.
Instead of the seller doing another $10,000 or $15,000 public reduction, would they rather use some of that money to get **my buyer** into the house?
Could they contribute toward closing costs?
Could they give us a credit for repairs?
Could they help buy down my buyer's interest rate?
Could we negotiate on the purchase price?
Maybe some combination of all of the above?
That's where things get interesting.
### NUMBER THREE: LOOK AT THE HOUSE ITSELF
When we're touring, I'm not only looking at whether you like the kitchen.
I'm looking for clues.
Is the house completely empty?
Are half the rooms empty?
Is there a bed and a couch, but most of the furniture is gone?
Are there moving boxes?
Does it look like somebody has already moved out?
Again — none of those things automatically means the seller is desperate.
But it makes me curious.
Because if the seller has already purchased another home or moved somewhere else, there's a possibility they're carrying the expenses on **two properties.**
Two mortgages.
Two sets of utilities.
Maybe two HOA payments.
Taxes, insurance, maintenance — all while this house is sitting empty.
Every additional month that property doesn't sell costs them money.
And sometimes certainty becomes more valuable to a seller than squeezing every last dollar out of the sales price.
### AND HERE'S THE IMPORTANT PART
I wouldn't look at any **one** of these things and automatically say:
*"We've got them! Let's lowball them!"*
That's not how this works.
A vacant house by itself doesn't tell us much.
Forty-five days on market by itself doesn't necessarily tell us much.
One price reduction doesn't necessarily tell us much.
But what if I see a house that's been sitting for **60 days...**
It's vacant...
The seller has already reduced the price **twice...**
And the listing agent tells me they've had very little activity?
**Now we have a pattern.**
And that's when I start wondering whether this property might be ripe for the picking.
Because the best negotiating opportunities aren't always the houses with a giant sign saying:
**SELLER MOTIVATED.**
Sometimes you have to know what you're looking for.
And this is also why I tell buyers not to immediately skip over the listings that have been sitting for a while.
Everybody wants the beautiful house that hit the market yesterday.
But sometimes the house that's been sitting quietly on Zillow for the last 57 days is where the opportunity is.
It may not be perfect.
Maybe it needs paint.
Maybe the staging is terrible.
Maybe the listing photos aren't doing it any favors.
But if the bones are good, the numbers work, and we have multiple signs that the seller may be ready to negotiate?
**That's a house I want to see.**
Because in this market, the best deal isn't necessarily the house with the lowest price.
It's the house where we have the most **leverage.**
And knowing where that leverage might exist is part of what your agent should be helping you figure out.
I'm Anna, and this has been Keys & Cafecito.
I'll see you next time.