Investor/Agent Question: Success Offering 30–40% Below MLS Asking?

Question

Hey everyone, quick question for my fellow investors and agents out there —

I was recently networking with some other agents not in my market and came across a couple who are actively offering 30–40% below market value on MLS listings.
Surprisingly, they’ve been having some success getting responses and even a few accepted deals.

It got me thinking —
Have any of you tried this strategy in your market?

• Are sellers actually entertaining      these lower offers where you are?
• Does it seem to work better with      certain types of properties (distressed, long days on market, etc.)?
• Any tips on making these low      offers more likely to get a response?

Would love to hear if anyone’s had experience — good or bad — with this approach recently!

Charles Clark · Answer

Great question—I've actually seen this strategy work best in markets where inventory is sitting longer or with properties that have obvious cosmetic or management issues. The key is positioning: backing the offer with data, showing proof of funds, and sometimes adding flexible terms (like quick close) can help soften the low price. It’s definitely not a volume play everywhere, but in the right conditions, it can unlock some hidden gems.

Marcus Auerbach · Answer

We recently analyzed about 2,000 transactions that have closed so for in 2025 in Milwaukee and to chart out how much over asking people get (which is about 2/3 of all deals. The remaining third was list price or under.

The majority of discounts were in the 3% range, some went to 5%, very few go below. Properties that see a bigger negotiation have been priced incorrectly to begin with and 30% discount may not be enough.

I saw a duplex yesterday listed for about 280k and fair market value based on condition and functional obsoloesence is probably under 100k. (Upstaris unusable the "stairs" are more like a ladder, so good luck getting furniture up there. Bedrooms only 5 feet wide. Some things had been "updated' in the last 20 years, but looked like a child did the work.. you get the idea). THese are the types of deals you get a big discount - but do you want that?