Well it has started to happen. Everyone is reaching their bottom line.
In an exaggerated market like we saw in 2007 prices were inflated based on demand and emotion not on math. IE I can afford that house - I have the money (real or credit) - there for I should buy it - but someone else might buy it so I should buy it now. In 2007 multiple offers and huge negotiations were the way of the deal.
Today things have changed. While many people are still calling it a recession they are (to be polite) wrong. It was projected that all markets would bounce along the bottom of their markets and Real Estate being a very "normal" market is doing just that - bouncing along the road to recovery like everything else. The trick with a house is - not everyone needs to buy shares in Apple because of it has a massive build up of cash and is poised to buy stuff...but EVERYONE needs a roof over their head. So if your buying a 1st time home, an investment for rental or just upgrading or downsizing - Real Estate is not going away.
WELCOME TO A BALANCED MARKET (relatively)
It has probably been so long since people have been in a balanced market they don't recognize it. A balanced market starts to happen when buyers are buying houses for realistic prices and sellers are realistic about their price. Negotiations are no longer about going back and forth over $40,000 - they are about $5000 - $10000 based on the property and what is included. Look at the recent graphstats on single family home pricing.
Prices have started to fluctuate up and down or bounce on the bottom as we look at it. The reason we call it the bottom is - they are not going back down to recession levels (which lets be honest were mostly caused by panic) and they are not skyrocketing back up to 2007 levels (even though I liked that market better:). Also a note about statistics is probably in order - they are easily manipulated. IE the rise in pricing we see for a couple months on that link does not reflect an improving market - what it reflected was the high end sales that were going on. IE just a few homes sold over $800,000 and that was enough to change the stats in an upward trend.
Today sellers are reaching their bottom line and bottom line usually means loosing money. No one wants that. So the deals are gone.
Sales volume is also fluctuating. Volume is defined as the total volume of sales in a given time period. Here is the volume link for this month.
Sales are up and down and only just starting to stabilize after the recession. Again watch how stats can be manipulated going into the winter. We could look at the stats and say sales are up - but the truth is over time they are actually normal. Next month it will look like sales are down but history in this area stats fewer homes sell Dec - Feb. It also shows there are more serious buyers and sellers during that time so you need to plan accordingly with your Realtor.
So the bottom line is tricky. Get professional help and support. Realtors can look at your home or the home your buying and research it's history. They can look at how taxes are being raised over time, comparable homes in the area, comparable prices and price history. Buying or selling your home is not just about how it makes you feel the first time you see it or walk through it - we want you to feel good 10 years down the road when you wake up in the morning.
Take care and give me a call if your buying or selling - let's take 30 minutes to talk about changing the way you think about Real Estate.
FYI - I can be wrong - you can disagree - and if the links dont work on your computer just goto twitpic.com and look me up at erikaleighhaley
Have a great November!
Erika Haley
250.202.1058
