A More Balanced Market Will Help Buyers

A More Balanced Market Will Help Buyers

If you’re hoping to buy a home in Gainesville FL area, you’ll be happy to hear that a more balanced market will help buyers.  The average days on the market has increased.  Our local inventory of homes for sale is rising.  We are not seeing homes going under contract with multiple offers in 48 hrs. So houses aren’t all selling as quickly. You may be able to negotiate on the price and your buyers agent should help you determine if a home is over-priced. A more balanced market will help buyers!

A silver lining to buyers who waited to buy a house in the recent market frenzy. While mortgage rates are higher, at least now you’re more able to successfully compete for a house.

In our Gainesville area, our inventory is increasing. Yet there’s still not a tremendous amount of listings on the market. So, even though you may have less competition, when a house comes on the market, there’s a good chance it’s appealing to other buyers too. That’s also a sign that it was well-priced. Price certainly plays a role in what makes a house appealing. And when that happens, there’s a good chance the house will sell for over asking price, despite what data and the news may be telling you.

The trick for you as a buyer is to not get stuck in the mindset that you have to get a house for under asking price. First of all, that’s based upon national data, which may not even apply locally, or the specific price range you’re in. Your buyers agent will help you with the LOCAL market stats.  And you can check out our monthly reports too.  But, more importantly, offering over the asking price is something you always need to be prepared to do.

Balanced Market

No matter what the market is like, if a seller prices their house appropriately, they have a good chance of creating a bidding war and getting over asking price. Sellers need to be more thoughtful about their pricing than they have been during the strong seller’s market.  Sellers can still easily generate enough interest to start a bidding war and get over the asking price for their home. But this happens more often than you’d think. But you’re also likely to find yourself in a bidding war right after an owner reduces to a more appropriate and appealing price. The point is, just because a house doesn’t sell in the first day or two doesn’t mean that it won’t sell for over the asking price.

The Takeaway:

If you’re in the market to buy a house, the good news is that houses aren’t always selling for over asking price. A well-priced house that appeals to you is likely to have offers from other buyers as well. If it’s a house you want, and the value can be justified, then consider offering more than the list price.