Price changes are a little higher than new listings this week, what many buyers have been waiting for. But what many people don’t think about is the fact that as price reductions increase so does the likelihood of multiple offers. Multiple offers have been hanging low, but took a jump up this week. If you get excited about a price reduction on a property expect that other buyers may be doing the same… resulting in multiple offers. We aren’t talking about the crazy bidding wars of recent history, but don’t be surprised if you make an offer on a property that feels like a good deal and find that multiple offers are driving the price back up. Transactions that canceled also popped up again this week… could be impacted by recent job losses, or buyers getting nervous and changing their minds. At least the stock market had its best day since 2000 yesterday, which could help take the edge off some financial worries.
Showings are down along with new listings, and media might lead you to believe the drop is due solely to rising interest rates… but that isn’t necessarily the case. Interest rates may be influencing why showings, new listings and pending sales are hanging below the last two years, but keep in mind that the real estate market always falls at this time of year. This year’s numbers are on trend with previous years in slowing down as we move to the end of the year, just lower.
If you are wondering if it even makes sense to buy at this time, think about how long you plan to stay in a home you would buy… and consider the long-time financial benefits of home ownership. Take a look at the infographic below from our blog at Keeping Current Matters, which looks at the percent price change in houses since 1991 by state. Average price appreciation in Minnesota averaged 296.1%. That means that if you bought a house for $150,000 in 1991 in could be worth $444,150 now! Thinking about selling? Is it time to cash in?
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – shensrud@homesmsp.com