Don't Believe The Hype - It's Always A People Market

I feel like a broken record but a couple of things happened during the past week to reinforce my motto - it's never a buyers market, it's never a seller's market...it is always a people market.

I had a listing in Bridgeport that was withdrawn on Friday. It had been on the market for 114 days. Despite marketing, open houses and price reductions the listing didn't get much attention... until another house on the same street came on the market. We had 10 showings in a week and 3 agents call to say they had interested clients. Last Thursday we received a solid (but not full price) offer. I contacted my client to learn that she was no longer interested in selling the house. It had been on the market for awhile, it wasn't a full price offer and life circumstances caused her to reconsider her decision to sell. I informed the buyer's agent. The agent's response was one of shock. She went so far as to questioned if the house would appraise for it's list price. Ultimately the list price was irrelevant because my client withdraw the property the next day. A couple days later the same buyer's agent called to say her client wanted THIS house and was willing to pay full price. Unfortunately my client was not interested in selling. change The buyer's agent called one more time with her client crying in the background (I swear I am not exaggerating this story) to see if there was any change. Still the answer was no.

I share this story because it is only one of many which proves that it is always a PEOPLE MARKET. What seller in this "buyer's market" would say no to a full price offer? Someone who felt it was more important to be "home" than to get the cash and run.

One of my KW colleagues had a house listed in Shelton that got a couple offers within 14 days of being listed. This house was priced at more than $700K and the offer was for full price. During the appraisal the house did not appraise for as much as the offer. The buyer's didn't care. They had a large enough down payment that the appraisal price did not impact their mortgage and they purchased the house anyway.

What buyer would buy a house for more than it appraised for in a "buyer's market"? Someone who understands that coming home to a house you love is more important than securing an "investment" (read previous blogs if you want my opinion on your primary residence as an investment).

Since markets are based on supply and demand conventional wisdom has everyone believing we are in a "buyer's market" because the supply is high. However the popular statistics that justify buyer/seller terminology does not take into consideration basic human nature which is truly the driving factor in a more traditional market. NOTE: We are not in a "declining market" we are in a traditional market. After the BOOM of the previous 5 years things had to correct themselves which technically means sales will decrease.

So don't believe the hype. Yes, prices will continue to drop (however they are not declining at .05% per month as predicted by analysts - it's less) during the next 8-12 months. It is a great time to buy but you need time to weed out the junk. It is also a great time to sell. Price it appropriately and property prepare it for sale and it will sell quickly.