The Changing Tides Of Home Values....

It's been a peculiar year for housing in all of central Indiana. April and early May were gangbusters and then by early June things had calmed considerably. It's been maddening for home sellers especially those beyond the most affordable price points....those in the executive level of properties. The market has been fickle. The sales numbers since roughly 6.15 have been down despite the lower available inventory. To go through an entire weekend or weekends if your home is for sale and not have viable showings seems like an impossibility and yet this Summer it's happened. Why? There are likely several subtle reasons, none of which are overwhelming which is also maddening. Mortgage rates have remained moderate. The inventory has been down. We are in the peak season. April and early May were nuts. So it begs the question again why? It almost doesn't matter by now. Here's what does matter. We're heading for Labor Day and if your home hasn't sold and you must get it sold it's likely about price. In 29 years of doing this it's always a tenth grade economics class. When the supply (price) of your home hits the point where someone is willing to pay the price you're asking, you sell. It's that simple. 'Well my home has X & Y and that one doesn't and mine should be worth THIS.'  Believe me I have done this long enough to understand how hard this is for homeowners to grasp and accept. Right now I am talking to DOZENS who have not sold and don't understand why. It's really much simpler than most of us make it. If you're getting good exposure and people aren't buying...they are not willing to pay the price you're asking. Houses are a lot like stocks in their values. They ebb and flow. It's not unusual for a home to be worth 3 or 4 percent less 90 days from when it was listed and sometimes there's not a specific identifiable reason for it. Think about that. 3 or 4 percent on a $300,000 home is $9,000 to $12,000. It sounds like a LOT of money and yet it's still just 3 or 4 percent. As a seller here's all you should focus on. If you need to get sold this season....you MUST get more aggressive in your price now. I'm not trying to be insensitive but I've seen too many Augusts turn into Novembers to not tell this like it is. Get your price right now or you will be having turkey in your current home. Don't try and rationalize it....just accept the fact that your 10th grade economics teacher was right. 
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