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We are being caught in the current of a changing market—one where buyers have much more of a say in terms of the price they will pay and the terms they want, and one where sellers are having a hard time accepting the shift. Many of them are still holding onto the memories of years past, when the homeowner dictated everything they wanted in an offer and got it! Those days happen, but not for everyone. Value is rewarded. The higher interest rates and worries about the economy are not helping buyer confidence either. Our inventory has certainly risen from years past, but it is overall historically very low. I would categorize what we are seeing as more balanced on both sides.
Guess who is caught in the middle of the shifting tides? The agents. Our best weapon is educating and counseling clients on the day to day movement in order for sellers to have some type of control and keep the process moving forward—but I’ll be honest, it isn't easy. Understandably, we can't expect our sellers to change their mindset after being fed headline after headline that the market is on fire- and you can just name your price. It will take time- the adjustment to a new way of doing things always does.
Have prices gone down because of this? It doesn't seem so, at least not dramatically. It's a tale of those who are selling and those who are not. A home in Needham priced at $1.5M had five offers and will trade nearly 15% over asking. Another, in a neighboring town originally priced in the mid $2M's, will ultimately sell 20% below where they started. Each client's experience is unique. There are more price reductions daily than we have seen since 2019. Our job is to keep calm and help everyone work through the current market.
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