Seems counter intuitive, huh? Well, when you consider the anemic inventory, even though it has improved, there are still more buyers than sellers and those buyers are not settling on homes they don’t like. Rising prices should lead to more sellers who will be happy with the increased values and ability to cash out equity. This will lead to more sales as better homes enter the market. Homes in areas with the higher appreciation rates are seeing higher sales.
Even now, as we see higher prices and interest rates, buyers are still outnumbering sellers. While I haven’t seen a 30 offer property lately, I am still seeing multiple offers. I tell my clients, we now have 5 offers, not 30, and very few cash offers. It is nice to see first time homebuyers finally getting into some homes.
It is important to note that we are not seeing prices decreases at this time. Prices are still moving up. Homes that buyers don’t like aren’t selling but those that are desirable are still attracting plenty of attention. Yes, some homes are decreasing list prices but they are the ones testing the market at upper limits. Those sellers may have missed their opportunity to find desperate enough buyers to get unreasonable prices. Good homes still sell fast and for a good price.
