"The Mulligan Market"

Disregarding Buyers' First Offer

Mulligan (ˈmə-li-gən): a free shot sometimes given a golfer in informal play when the previous shot was poorly played.

So, I think I've got a good name for today's housing market: 'The Mulligan Market.'

That's because so many deals these days start out with the Buyer making an insultingly poor (out-of-bounds?) offer, simply because they believe that: a) housing prices are softer than they really are; and b) every Seller is desperate.

Once Buyers discover otherwise, if they're serious, they typically return to the table with their second, "new-and-improved" offer . . . and negotiations can commence for real.

(The trick for Sellers confronting such Buyers is not to overreact to their first, unrealistic offer.)