Three critical changes in the market will affect the sale of your home.

What has happened to the housing market in the past year or so? Today I’ll share a few differences that have taken place in our real estate market for our sellers looking to list. Here are three things sellers should know about our changing market:

1. Inventory is dramatically different. Inventory has increased four times from what it was a year ago. If you look at the beginning of the summer, it has increased about 30% to 40%, depending on which numbers you’re looking at. There’s no question our market is getting bigger as far as the amount of houses for sale, which in turn is affecting how many houses are selling. 

“Prices in a lot of areas have either cooled off or have started to slide backward.”

Also, this has caused more price reductions. In some situations, the number of sales has decreased as well because of rising interest rates. As a result, some buyers are either priced out of the market or are waiting for rates to drop. However, this doesn’t mean the market is crashing; we’re just moving towards a more healthy market. A few months ago, the market was so lopsided it was unsustainable.

2. Staging is now a must. When the market was red-hot, you could sell your home in just about any kind of condition. You could go away with not cleaning the house, getting it organized, or decluttering. Many buyers were desperate enough to make an offer. It almost didn’t matter what the house looked like. Now, that has changed a lot. Homes that are prepped and staged are selling faster and for more money. If you want to list, you have to spend some time to make sure the home is in its best condition.

3. Pricing is now more important than ever. Because our inventory has gone up, prices in a lot of areas have either cooled off or have started to slide backward. There won’t be a cliff any time soon, so I think we’re safe in that regard. However, pricing is now more critical than ever. We can’t list the house at the same price we would have given it two or four months ago. The price has to make sense so that buyers will not snub it, or you don’t end up trying to catch up to the market. 

If you have more questions about this topic or anything else that’s real estate related, call or email me. I’d love to connect with you!