Stagnant Market: Home Sellers Lower Prices And Help Buyers Make a Deal
In the not-so-distant past, U.S. homeowners wanting to sell their houses could anticipate selling them quickly and often for more than the asking price.
That’s not the case now, and according to a report from the Associated Press, a stagnant housing market is leaving many sellers in limbo.
They’re not able to relocate for a new job, buy their next home to accommodate a growing family, or follow through with other major life decisions that necessitate selling their home.
Of course, sellers have the option to pull their listing off the market and are generally doing so. Those who don’t are pressured to lower their asking price and also kick in thousands of dollars toward a buyer’s costs, real estate agents say.
Stalled Market
The trend marks a turn from earlier this decade, when sellers often received well above their asking price as home shoppers empowered by rock-bottom mortgage rates fueled a buying frenzy that sent home prices soaring.
The market is stalled by surging mortgage rates and the effect of years of rising home prices and an economic outlook dimmed by high inflation, the AP noted. It said those factors are putting homeownership out of reach for many buyers while others delay a purchase and hope for more favorable conditions, perhaps in the spring.
Sellers easily outnumber buyers and are stuck between uneasy choices: be more aggressive on price cuts and concessions to woo buyers, or hold out longer, even if it means delaying major life plans.
“The dynamic has shifted back toward more of what we call buyers’ markets rather than sellers’ markets,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American Financial. “(That) means you might have to reduce your price, you might give a concession to get your home sold, it might have to stay on market longer.”
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