I guess it's now official. The real estate bubble has burst. When the inventory figures for homes show they are going up nationwide AND it's in the national media, you can be sure that it's already been happening for a few months now. The NY Times and Jouranl and just about every other news outlet decided today that it was a story - so I guess it's official.
Those of us in the real estate business have known it for the last 3 months and we could have told you so. We have sales figures and "time on market" statistics that can back up our claims. We have been telling successful sellers what's happening and how to price their homes accordingly. Now - 3 months later, the media is catching on.
The story is that the supply of homes on the market is rising and the number of buyers isn't. What that means to you is that your home will sit on the market longer without selling. In fact, two of the articles I've read state simply that it would take over 6 months to sell all the homes currently for sale. What they leave out is that more homes come on the market every day, further increasing the glut.
As the number of homes on the market increases, it takes further price reductions to get some of those homes to sell quicker, which, in turn, lowers the reflected market price of all homes. Sellers will wait and wait and then lower their price - too late. What they don't realize is that they are chasing the market down.
The market price of their home goes down and then they lower their price just above the market price and wait. While they wait, the market price goes down further, putting them farther and farther away from the market value, until they lower the price again.
So, as a seller, what should you do right now?
Simple, lower your price to a point that is BELOW the current market value. Ask your agent to take some time and do a good market analysis to get a feel for what your home is worth right now. Then, price it below that number. If you do this, you will have hungry and willing buyers lining up to make offers on your home... but only for a short time in a falling market. If you wait too long, and the market coninues to drop, then you will be priced above the market again and have to reassess the situation.
The smart thing to do is price your home low and let the market come to you, rather than chasing the market down. One strategy results in buyers, the other results in foreclosures. But you have to decide which strategy to persue.
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