The Housing Market is Shifting, So Now What?

We have been in an out-of-this-world seller's market for the last few years, and any REALTOR® could help you just enough to get your home sold. However, this has drastically changed over the last few months, and now you will need local real estate experts to help you accomplish your home selling goals. We have transitioned into a market where home buyers are cautious as the economy shifts, interest rates increase, and the number of homes for sale increases. As a homeowner looking to sell, knowing what is going on in the real estate market is essential to pricing your home to sell.

Home values have drastically increased over the last two years, but they are starting to level out and return from those exceptional highs. This feels like the floor has been removed from beneath our feet, but it has not. We are experiencing a more traditional selling market and are in the fall season right now, during which we usually see seasonality adjustments. The good news is that, even though home prices are lower than they were a few months ago, they are still higher than last year. DORRMAT® strongly encourages you to price appropriately for the market as it continues to adjust to lower expectations. Your agent should be doing weekly reviews of the competition and taking feedback from your showings seriously.

We have seen a few things that have helped get more traffic and even offers without lowering the list price. First things first, was your home ready for photos? Did you declutter and remove a lot of your things? You are moving, so get packing. Have you touched any dramatic rooms to bring them back to a more common color scheme? Did you have the landscaper come over and tighten up your curb appeal? If any of these things are answered with a “NO,” then it is time to do them and take some new photos. Does your listing description start with a strong hook? Yes, words matter. What is so special about your house and your community? I am sure a prospective buyer would like to know more about your home and community.

When everything above has been fully completed, and your home is still not getting any activity, you will want to see how long it took the other houses to sell during your listing window. Then you might want to see what they gave away in the sale and offer something similar (IE: closing cost assistance). If you feel your house is overpriced, we suggest lowering your list price. It does not mean having a scared adjustment. If you have listed your home at the correct price and your home is not selling, it might be because home selling prices are steadily declining in your current market. If this is the case, we have been through the 2006 to 2011 market shift. We then learned that it was more important to be ahead of the price adjustment, so you would meet it rather than constantly chasing it. We also learned to take an approach that made home buying easier for potential buyers. This could include buyer incentives.

Signs your home is overpriced:

• No offers despite a high volume of showings or agent praise.
• Few inquiries or showings despite a lot of saves online.

A key driver in this market shift is the increase in mortgage rates. The U.S. Federal Reserve has not been shy about its plans to have more interest rate hikes in the near future.

Here’s what we see in the market:

• Mortgage rates have increased sharply this year, making mortgages less affordable.
• Homes are taking a lot longer to sell.
• Housing inventory is increasing, giving buyers more choices
• Sellers have been decreasing their home prices.
• Builders are having a hard time selling their inventory.
• Offers often come in below-asking prices as buyers feel prices have gotten too high.

Want to capitalize on today’s market? Here are three more tips to help you stand out when more homes are on the market. These steps can help you get your home sold faster and for the best price possible:

• Work with a top-producing real estate agent
• Have your home seriously ready to sell
• Take showcase professional quality photos
• Take a video of your home
• Take twilight photos
• Take drone photos
• Think like a salesperson and marketing and advertising professional when you are writing your copy/content for the description of your home
• Post your home on paid and non-paid social media platforms weekly with a solid call to action to visit your home
• Have weekly mega open houses
• Offer buyers incentives that can make it easier for them to buy your home vs. your neighbors.

Our clients get help with pricing their homes correctly. They get to take full advantage of our Home Pricing Report service. Our real estate agents will assist you in determining the current comps for your home sale to help you price competitively for your local market and sell your listing.

Our content does not provide legal, financial, or real estate advice. It is for informational purposes only. It never intends to solicit business away from another real estate agent or brokerage.