Selling in a Shifting Market

We're shifting out of the extreme sellers market that we've been in the last 2 years or so.

It's not necessarily a bad thing, but things have changed and most likely will continue to change.

As I write this in June of 2022 we have around 4000 homes for sale, in 2021 at this time we didn't even have 2000 homes for sale, for the few years prior to 2021 we had closer to 7000 homes for sale.

Simply put, when there are more homes for sale to meet buyer demand, buyers aren't willing to pay as much for homes. Buyer demand has shrunk recently because interest rates have doubled since 2021. But we're not seeing prices go down at all, we're just not seeing buyers bid up properties as much as they were in 2021.

So this isn't a bad thing. It still means if you have a home that you bought in the past and you go to sell it today you're going to get top dollar for it. Depending on how long ago you bought it you could make double what you paid for it.

That being said, now is not the time to get optimistic with your pricing. Homes that are priced incorrectly based on their condition and the recently sold properties in the area are not selling quickly and/or for full price. It might seem to be common sense but you don't get to pick what your home is worth. It's worth what a buyer will pay for it and the easiest way to understand what a buyer will pay is by looking at recently sold properties that are of similar size, similar construction and in similar condition. A 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom home that needs a full remodel is not worth the same as a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home that's recently remodeled with great finishes and is 40 years newer.

So how do you find out what's sold around you recently like what you own. Zillow has that data right? Not in Texas. Texas is a non-disclosure state, meaning what properties are sold for is not public record. And no, that tax assessment is not the value of a home. That's the counties best guess, with the limited data that they have; which isn't much because they too don't have access to sold data.

To get true and accurate data you need to work with a trusted Realtor who has access to the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and knows how to interpret the data through experience and knowledge. If you'd like help with this just reach out to us for a Free Market Analysis and we'd love to help in the Austin area. Let us know if you need help in a different area and we'll refer you to one of the expert agents in our network.

To recap. The market is changing from where it was the last 18 months but, we're still far below the amount of homes needed or even the amount of homes that were for sale over the last few years. To be a competitive seller in todays market you need to price right, the home needs to look great and you need to market well but most importantly you need to be realistic with your pricing. If it doesn't make sense to sell at this time, don't. If it does, then make it look great and enjoy the incredible price appreciation Austin has seen!