People are always asking, “Is it a buyers’ market or a sellers’ market?”, and honestly, there isn’t a black and white answer to this question. There are so many factors: the price of the home, the seller’s motive (or lack of) in selling their home, and yes, even the choice in real estate agent the seller picked to list their home.
The Price of the Home
This is a factor because there are typically more buyers in the lower price ranges than the higher price ranges. While this is commonly known, another way to look at this factor is, listing your home the right price right away will help the seller attract many buyers which decreases their days on market (also known as DOM). And this is also a no brainer, but many sellers and real estate agents like to think that this doesn’t apply to “my” house or “my” listing.
The Seller’s Motive
This factor is a huge one. Some sellers do not have to sell their current home in order to purchase their next, so they kind of lack motive in selling quickly. This typically leads to listing the home high in hopes to get what they want, which once again leads to a high DOM.
Choice in Real Estate Agent
I know this is a bit controversial of me to publicly say, but it is true. I could write a whole book on this topic, but I will try to keep it to one paragraph. Choosing a real estate agent that doesn’t use a professional photographer, leads to homes not being marketed properly, which leads to low showings and high DOM. Choosing a real estate agent that doesn’t guide a seller in listing their home at a price that will compete in the current state of the market also leads to low showings and high DOM. In most cases, when a buyer sees a high priced home, they think it is the seller that is unrealistic, when sometimes it was the seller’s agent who was misleading the home price. No matter what the case is, the thought of “not wanting to deal with an unrealistic buyer” crosses their mind. They in turn decide to wait for the price to lower before they make a move, which typically takes weeks and more commonly, months, and by the time the house they originally had their eye on is a realistic price, they have already made an offer on another home. Choosing the wrong real estate agent is almost detrimental to the ultimate sales price of a particular home.
I’m not sure if you noticed, but in every factor listed above there was a reoccurrence: price. So if your home is listed at the right price, you will find yourself in a seller’s market. If your home is listed high, then you will find yourself in a buyer’s market.
Now again, this isn’t black and white. Let’s break down the numbers for May 2017..
Number of Sales :: 252
Compared to last year, this is an increase from 212.
Average Sales Price :: $435,251
Compared to last year, this is a decrease from $472,148.
Days of Market :: 44
Compared to last year, this is a decrease from 54.
Number of New Listings :: 322
Compared to last year, this is an increase from 259.
Current Number of Listings :: 1046
Inventory :: 4.15 months
This just means that if no more homes hit the market, the current inventory would carry us a little over 4 months.
There are many factors in determining the market outlook. Some of which are out of our control, but many of which are in our control. Sellers, as long as their agent has been guiding them in the right direction, are ultimately the deciding factor in whether on not it’s a buyers’ or sellers’ market. The choices they make throughout the process of listing their home will ultimately decide the outcome. If one is adamant about getting their home sold, they are setting themselves up to sell in a sellers’ market. If one just wants to see what they’ll get, and the selling price of their home is inconsequential to a large degree, they ultimately make it a buyers’ market.
If you have any questions, call or text me. My cell is 832-493-6685.
Thank you,
Jordan Marie Schilleci, REALTOR®
Beth Ferester & Company
832-493-6685 call/text anytime | rewithjo.com | 24hourlistings.net | blog.rewithjo.com