The Milford Real Estate Scene

 

My house hasn’t sold. What’s taking so long?

We weren’t hearing that a lot over the last few years, but now we hear it often. What happened?

The market took a dramatic downturn during the second half of 2022 for several reasons. The inflation fighting interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve certainly played a role driving up mortgage rates; however that wasn’t the only thing to cause a slowdown. Seller greed and overpricing finally go to be too much for many would-be buyers. Many first-time buyers were just priced out of the market or became frustrated after losing out to investors who made cash offers for low-end houses to become rental properties. Also contributing to the slowdown was the continuing low inventory of houses for sale.

Sellers coming into the market during the last half of 2022 generally missed or ignored many of these signs and continued to overprice their homes when they listed them. People who didn’t have their homes ready to sell also jumped in so that they would not miss the “hot market”. They thought that anything and everything being listed would sell immediately. That was not the case, especially with houses that were far from move-in-ready. It has been difficult for those sellers to accept the reality of the current market, so their houses just sit there.

What are you to do if your house has been sitting on the market for months? As Doctor Phil used to say – “It’s time to get real.” I suspect that your Realtor has been trying for some time to get you to reduce you price to better suit the market. It’s time to listen to their advice. It may be time for you to rethink your whole situation. Can you afford to do what you had in mind at the current market value for your home. If not, take it off the market or rethink your plans to account for the reality of today’s market.

Even in this market, homes are still selling. If you still want or need to sell sometime soon, give me a call and let’s talk about the things that you need to do to get the house ready for the market and determine what a fair market price is in the current market. With those two things in mind, if you still want to sell we’ll discuss what your realistic expectations should be and go over the home selling process, so that you know what to expect. In southeast Michigan call me at 248-763-2497 to set up an appointment.