Home Sales for April vs March took a dip in certain price points. This is the first time we have seen a spring market month over month decrease since 2013. The cause of this may not be what you first think. In looking at this number if you don’t sell a lot of homes each month you may think – “oh no, the bottom is starting to fall out of the market.” Most Realtors only sell 5 homes a year, so if they are tracking numbers, which they probably aren’t, they would think that sales are dropping. What is instead happening (we have 35 homes currently under contract right now) is that we are seeing buyers make offers on multiple properties and then bolt quicker. If you look at the second set of columns in days on market, you’ll see that days on market are also falling. This means that homes are selling quickly and that buyers are being forced to make decisions quickly. This quick action if the buyers aren’t well prepped by their Realtors can cause anxiety and buyers then fall out of contract only to move onto another home. With hundreds of new Realtors entering the market, we’re seeing lack of experience in how clients are prepped impact the home buying and selling process more than ever.
What this means to you:
Don’t fall in love with the buyer on your home sale until we’re well past inspections, appraisals and financing contingencies. Keep emotions in check and be prepared to sell your home not one or two times but even three times if the buyer on the other side of the deal isn’t prepped like we prep our sellers.
As a buyer, the more serious you can be in your initial offer on a home you LOVE, the more seriously you will be taken because flaky buyers will make you look even better in this market
