Selling? Make sure the price is right
According to sources from the Home Building Association of Richmond (HBAR), mortgage rates in the metropolitan area are at historical lows with the inventory of new and existing homes high.
Yet, viewed from past trends, a slowdown in the national housing market has stemmed from the factors of high mortgage interest rates, a low housing inventory, or a sluggish economy.
Lummie Jones, vice president of Napier Realtors ERA and chair of HBAR's Sales and Marketing Council notes, "One overlooked cause of the current slowdown is simple to identify and relatively easy to address."
Jones add, "As a result of price appreciation experienced through the first half of 2006, many home sellers have an unrealistic view of the true value of their home. When they decide to 'move on' to another home, they set a selling price on their current home that does not take into acccount for the market correction that started after the first half of 2006 and continue today. Like a chain reaction gone bad, the inability to sell the current home significantly delays or even prevents the purchase of their next home.
How then, should sellers progress. "Take a reality check based on what buyers are willing to pay," says Jones. "Consider that the rate of price appreciation for real estate over the past year has slowed. As inventory increases, the law of supply and demand impacts what buyers are willing to pay. Despite this current slowdown, most sellers will sell their homes in a reasonable time frame if they are willing to set a selling price that takes current market inventory into account.
Jones is positive about the housing outlook: "Now is a great time to buy a home for those who understand that the key to selling is to be in the current market, not the one that has passed.