By Living Room Realty, July 25, 2023
Sellers, and buyers, believe home prices have dropped since last year. In some ways, it has. As far as how the media is portraying it, it’s absolutely not true but everyone has the memory (trauma for many) of the 2008 housing market crash that showed about 4 years of home price declines. BUT 2008 was an anomaly because of unregulated, bad lending practices. When, in fact, if you look at the chart below, housing historically has stayed strong through recessions.
Yes, I get it, your neighbor sold their house last year for a very nice price and, if they had waited, this year it would have sold for less. The market, in some ways, is like the stock market. It has its ups and downs but housing has outperformed stocks and is far more stable. Know your market and contrary to what you see on the news, the Portland market is still solid with not enough supply to meet demand.
However, that number for your neighbor was only real because they actually got into the market and sold their home. Overall, the main thing to consider is what did you pay for the home then? What is your mortgage balance now? This is your equity and how much would that be?
We have two different markets right now…
Fact is now in summer of 2023, we are seeing homes that are well prepped for the market getting into bidding wars again. We’re also seeing appraisal waivers, appraisal gaps and even inspection waivers. BTW, NEVER, EVER let a buyer waive the home inspection. As a seller, it’s a real liability. Homes that have deferred maintenance or not “market ready” sit longer and have price reductions. Let’s also be real, some homes sit because sellers are wanting last year’s prices with today’s interest rates. The market is based on how much a buyer is willing to pay and how much a seller is willing to sell it for. Be realistic, homes with some “quirks” or something funky like the layout is considered when your agent prices the home. There are so many factors and so it’s not a good idea to get fixated on what your neighbor’s home sold for unless it’s within the last 3-6 months and is very similar to yours, then you have a good comp.
So, if you’re thinking about selling…speak with a realtor, go to some open houses and see what homes are listing and then selling for.
