What is the “market” what is this indeterminate thing. I have likened it to a blob that oozes over everything, a cloud, maybe a Tsunami that slowly receded belying the danger it is really going to do. For Realtors we often say “it’s the market” a saying to help explain the unexplainable. Why are houses not selling as fast as a month ago, why did that cute house never sell, why, why, why. Honestly being in real estate is being left babysitting a three year old who’s only demand is “why”. I am sure a toddler would accept the answer “it’s the market.” But we have to.
Every day, every realtor, buyer and seller wake up to a new market, especially our area of Santa Cruz, California which has found it’s self in a tug of war with buyers from Los Angeles, San Francisco and the Silicon Valley. We tend to have a very fast moving market, yet I think we are slowing down, I am noticing a shift. The buyer calls are slowing and with that we have gone to a market that seemed to be a raging inferno to a simmering one. Here I see a glimmer of normality. In late May and June real estate always slows because buyers typically have weddings, graduations, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and birthdays.
What is encouraging is I am seeing this slow down while I have heard of these celebrations, I even had buyers say we would like to visit a property but we have an opportunity to go to an outdoor concert and want to do that. That is what a cooling market looks like when summer comes and more activities distract buyers from home buying they are interested, just not hyper focused. This is where shift happens and this is also seasonal and we are seeing a normal market emerging.
Does this mean prices will go down, NO, it just means less offers where you had 10-12 offers you may see 5-6 and possibly only 3 real viable offers at that. The list prices will most likely stay at the new level they have gained but what you will not see is sellers coming on the market setting a new price precedent. From here on out I would say pricing a home should be priced more in line with nearby comparison sold listings and pricing should not be done to test the market. That is not to say a seller cannot try what they would like to receive as an offer, it is just to say that prices will most likely not rise from this time on.
So while the market is hard to define, it might be easier to say the season is here that may see less buyer demand and prices that are not rising with every sale.
Of course who is to say, we could all wake up tomorrow to a new market! And wonder “why”