Curious about what the market is doing? Here’s what’s happening, with a few FAQs, a few stats, and a few predictions. Do you have questions? Reach out to me- I’d love to get you some answers!
If you’ve been waiting for a “crash,” I hate to disappoint you. While we’re certainly seeing something of a shift, that only means that we are heading towards (hint- we’re not there yet) what will likely be a more balanced market. That means things will start getting a little easier for buyers, while still being good for sellers.
Wait. What?
Well, here’s what that means- The definition of a balanced market is one in which the supply and demand are, well, you guessed it- balanced. That means if no other homes were listed, it would take about 6 months to sell through the inventory on the market. Where have we been in the last year+?
If you look at this graph, you’ll see it’s actually been nearly 10 years since we’ve had a true balanced inventory, but in the last year or two, we’ve consistently been under one month of inventory. There have simply not been enough homes to meet demand. (The why of all this is a longer story that I won’t get into now.)
As of May ’22, we’re at .9 months, and still very much in a seller’s market. Because of the length of time it takes real estate transactions to close, these numbers are often lagging indicators. In other words, the data is generally a little old to really be accurate for the moment.
What I can tell you is that anecdotally, here’s what we’re seeing:
We are STILL seeing many multiple offer situations. Just more often there are 4-6 offers, rather than 20. (There are still lots of 20+ offers happening, though, on those “perfect perfect turn key” homes.)
We are seeing more inspections written in to offers, and more of those offers getting accepted. Whew! This is GREAT for buyers. (Keep in mine, in certain areas, and on certain homes, we’re still seeing lots of inspections being waived, so just be aware of that if you know you’re in a competitive situation.)
We are definitely seeing more price reductions, more homes on the market for a bit longer, and more homes without tight offer deadlines. All of these things mean there is hope for the buyers out there, and while we don’t really anticipate prices going down, we do anticipate things getting just a bit easier for the buyers out there. (Finally!)
“So, what does this mean for sellers? Have we missed our window?”
NO! You have not missed your window. It is still a great time to sell! But, we are definitely seeing things trending more to “normal,” which means if you’re going to sell, there are some things you’ll probably want to do to get top dollar (search Selling Your Home posts here for some of those tips!).
Cleaning, using a great agent who actually uses professional photos and markets your home, staging, and doing some repairs and prep work are making a comeback for folks who want to get the most money for their home. Also key? Pricing correctly! That window of exorbitantly high prices that still go for over asking may indeed be closing.
Questions? I’ve got answers. Message me or give me a call. I’d love to help!