Weekly Stats 10/21/2022

As the market continues to settle into a more “normal” pattern…we are seeing more and more sellers being forced to reduce their prices and some (quite a few in fact) are failing to even sell at all…But that does not mean there is a crash or even market “pullback” happening…see if this makes sense to you…For many months (over 30 in fact) sellers could routinely ask more than any previous sale had closed for when listing THEIR house for sale and the reductions occurring today simply price adjustments to what the house originally should have been listed at from the start…so it’s not a VALUE drop it’s a “reality reduction” 

Trusting a realtor TODAY and in a shift like the one we are in is imperative and more and more advice given by someone who has seen shifts like this before is clearly more desirable than advice given by someone…less seasoned. Be careful…there are more Realtors licensed today than ever before and here is a shocking statistic for you…there are more realtors with less than 3 years of experience than ever! The average realtor sells 3 houses a year! 

When interviewing a realtor always ask for their time in the industry, sales or “sides” per year and what infrastructure they have to get you to the finish line…today…it takes a village!

Key Points behind THIS week:

• Existing home sales fell to the slowest pace since September 2012. The 8th straight month of declines came as mortgage rates continued to rise.

• Housing starts dropped 8.1% in September, and single-family home starts fell to their lowest level in more than two years. Permits also fell by 3.1%.

• Buyers in many areas are finding bright spots in the market, including seller concessions, easier negotiations, and more time to consider options.