Brokers - advice? Seller won’t sell &amp; keeps increasing the price
Long story short, I have a listing for an apartment. We were offered 15.5 M, countered at 16.2 M, seller was ready to put it under contract at 16.2 M, buyer agrees and then construction halted the deal (new construction). Now seller is revisiting the contract, he wants another 1.3 M, (17.5 M sell price). 

We already got him a way over ask price, that literally only a handful of buyers in the country were willing to do, and now he wants more. I don’t know any way to push him to take the deal without being too pushy and self involved, I’m getting brain damage with this guy. 

Any advice from people who have dealt with this kind of situation? Any ideas on how to proceed?


Update: Buyer agrees somehow to come up to 17.2 M, now the seller is making it his job to be offer the most aggressive terms. We’ll see how this plays out, I think buyers are starting to lose patience.
[{"id": "ha346k6", "text": "Cancellation of the purchase contract", "replies": [{"id": "ha3b44s", "text": "Never officially put it under contract. Just held onto it for later date. Later date came, seller wants 1.3 M more. No need to cancel anything.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ha37tjf", "text": "Interesting situation.\n\nI can see it from owners side that pandemic caused unforeseen expenses + the years inflation of prices means the originally negotiated sum might not reflect true market value.\n\nI can also see it from buyers side &amp; be annoyed because the original terms they were advertised are not actually correct.\n\nThe only true power buyer has is to walk on the deal. Time will educate the seller &amp; they might not get as much with another deal, hell they might get more. Either way, your agency belongs with the seller.\n\nMy advice: Get an appraisal that reflects the price &amp; don't be afraid to ask for it. \n\nIf you can't explain why theres a 1.3 million dollar price hike, what are you really there for?", "replies": [{"id": "ha3xpnz", "text": "You can only explain away so many times till the buyer thinks you\u2019re full of it and simply walks the deal, which would leave me and the seller back to entertaining significantly lower offers. The buyer we have at the table has 100 M in 1031 exchange money, they have the means and would overpay, but not to the point where we\u2019re bending them backwards. I actually increased the price several times and got a very good deal for my seller. He was only getting 12 M - 13 M offers, I pushed it to 16.2 M. Keep in mind this is new construction aka 0 percent occupied. Buyer is willing to take all the risk here. Hopefully I can pull it off and get him his 17.5 M (I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll ask for 18.5 at that point) but you are right, my agency is with the seller and hopefully we can get it done.", "replies": [{"id": "ha3yl6m", "text": "Fuckin yolo it dude, take a deep breath, call buyer &amp; say \u201cDue to an act of god buyer wants 17.5, take it or leave it &amp; pray they don\u2019t alter it further\u201d", "replies": [{"id": "ha3ywfu", "text": "Hahaha good idea, I like your style. I told buyer the situation this morning, he said send us a counter and we\u2019ll see but we\u2019re hesitant with all the price increases you\u2019re asking for. So I\u2019ll just have to see how it goes.", "replies": [{"id": "ha6bqij", "text": "Yeah I mean if you know it's an asshole move, own it &amp; beat the buyer up. \n\nI like to say \"Insult them &amp; work up from there\"", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}, {"id": "ha54wpp", "text": "These deals are a nightmare. Seller wants to sell at fully leased value to maximize profits and buyer wants some discount for buying vacancy and bridge finance costs. I'm guessing the Seller keeps moving the value higher since rent is jumping higher and driving up stabilized value. Is this really the case? I'm surprised the seller hasn't walked already and is only staying until they can identify another 1031 option. Hopefully the buyer sends the message that $16.2 is the final offer to stop wasting everyone's time. \nI think you or someone else will likely be marketing this again once it is leased up. I like the other person's suggestion of getting an appraisal for vacant and stabilized to support how little extra value can be delivered from waiting for it to be leased.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ha3bno2", "text": "Off market deals are very complex....and when you come across who seller who isn't motivated, it is even worse. I have a small deal closing next week that was similar. Value of the property is around $2.3M and we are closing for $2.7M. If the buyer wants the property badly enough to overpay, then they have that option. If they don't, move in. All these kinds of deals do is wear you down and make you older...", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ha3mjyg", "text": "This isn\u2019t in AZ is it?", "replies": [{"id": "ha3rn9k", "text": "No not AZ.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "ha4ph7e", "text": "Hahahahaha. Am in AZ. Can confirm the market is nuts now", "replies": [{"id": "ha4pj5e", "text": "Same! You in retail or MF?", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ha5a6ad", "text": "Walk.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ha8slhb", "text": "I would resubmit your offer for $800,000 less and act like you don\u2019t care if he takes it.  If he is going to move he will move then or soon after.  Nobody cares more about closing then the sellers agent and he will apply pressure too when he senses you are walking. Good luck.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "halpag6", "text": "Is this a seller you have a good relationship with? Because honesty is the best thing in this business. A lot of times I even reject listings because the seller's price expectation is undoable. You gotta build the right expectation from the start. I think in this case, you have to go to your seller and tell them why this is not worth the price they want. Think long and hard before they lose a buyer on hand.", "replies": [{"id": "hcdfbhy", "text": "Yes. But the deal is so big, it helps me talk to some of the biggest players in the industry. I wouldn\u2019t let it go like that.", "replies": [{"id": "hcdi4js", "text": "Then I would suggest getting a complete understanding of the cost for a new buyer that will develop. Tell the seller how much it would cost and if he was the develop would he do this? Turn it back around on them.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]