Here’s how to price your home correctly in our shifting real estate market.

Today I’m discussing how to price a home in the current shifting real estate market. Right now, buyer demand is still high due to low interest rates. Active inventory is still low; we’re starting to see more, but they’re selling quickly. We’ve also had price increases of over 24% in the last 12 months.

As a seller, it’s easy to think you should price your home at the top of the market. However, in a shifting market, that’s a dangerous thing to do. There’s less competition between buyers these days due to more inventory coming onto the market, and prices are not rising at the same pace in the same locations. From our research, we’re seeing many more price adjustments now and a growing number of days on market.

At 1:15 in the video above, you can view a chart of the active listings in Benicia, as of the recording of this video. We have 17 active listings, but a month ago we would only have had about 10. Of these 17, six are brand-new on the market, and five have recently had price adjustments.

“There’s less competition between buyers these days due to more inventory coming onto the market.”

When a home has had a price adjustment, it takes longer to sell because you’re chasing the market downhill. Also, when a house is on the market for a long time, buyers think it has issues; they won’t know it’s simply because the price was initially too high. You want to avoid overpricing.

The best pricing strategy in a shifting market is to price slightly under the market because that will allow for more buyer competition and multiple offers. If the price is too high, the home will sit on the market, and you may have to reduce the price. You don’t want that to happen because eventually, you’ll just have to take whatever offer you receive as opposed to getting multiple offers and choosing the best one.

I’m a numbers nerd, so I’d be happy to show you how we’d price your home for the best possible results. If you’re considering selling or have any questions, call or email me. I’d love to help you.