These days there seems to be a disagreement between sellers who think their homes are worth just a bit more and buyers who believe those homes are simply not worth those extra dollars. All transactions are basically a meeting of minds, and when this divide exists, it can be impossible to transact.
In today's market, many sellers are reluctant to accept that their home may be worth less than it did six months ago. Often they are referencing sales from a few months past. In a fast moving market, things can change daily/monthly and it's important to have accurate data.
On the other hand, many buyers are valuing their bids with a calculator, mostly based on the increase in mortgage interest rates. They also see more inventory, price reductions and fewer buyers.
So how can the two parties come together to make a deal?
For Sellers:
Consider the value of time and reduced aggravation
Don't gamble on the future market - You can't predict what the short term market will bring so seriously consider your first offer even if it isn't full price. Your best chance of selling is when the property is fresh to market. Stale properties get stigmatized and encourage "discount" offers.
If you are trying to sell to buy a new home, look at the end game! - Holding out for a "better offer" that might never come might delay your next transaction. As a seller, you generally don't like to entertain "contingent to sale" offers since they are more risky than cash or financed deals so if you become a buyer, you'll need to keep that in mind. For Buyers:
Focus on long term appreciation and goals. How long do you plan to hold your asset?
Don't look back - pre-pandemic home values are a thing of the past. Looking back at what you could have bought 2-3 years ago won't help you in today's market. Look forward!
If you waiver on the value of buying versus renting - rents rise, ownership grows equity ....along with the dozens of other reasons that make owning a home a good idea.
Developers have cut back building recently combined with 12 years of extreme UNDER-building: when things recover (they always do) inventory will be even more restricted ....and could force pricing up, up, up.
Rates rise and fall and re-financing may always be possible down the road. Rates have been forced higher for a specific purpose: to ease inflation. Once that is achieved, rates are bound to come down, maybe not to zero, but probably lower than where they are today.....with some time and patience.
When pricing is stable - a rare moment - the divide is usually much more easily managed. When prices rise or fall more notably, lots of advertised data is closed sales data....and outdated! That's where a professional agent adds real value by providing REAL-TIME, hyper-localized data to their buyers and sellers.