I wish I had a dollar for every time a seller told me that they set their current (unrealistic) home price at some level because they ‘need the money’. 

Need has nothing to do with the value of your home, or my home.  Very simply, value is a moment in time based on what a specific buyer is willing to pay you for your property at that moment.  What I want or what I need is totally irrelevant to what is going to happen.

Everyone today, is wishing that they placed their property on the market two years ago.  Why?  Simply because market conditions were different two years ago and buyers were willing to pay more for property at that time.  In fact, with low inventory levels, buyers competed for contract acceptance and often paid over the asking price for property at that time.  The real estate market was better for sellers then.

Today’s economic conditions have changed all of those types of situations.  We have a declining stock market, higher unemployment, a high cost for oil, higher foreclosure rates, and bank short sales, higher down payment requirements for mortgages, increased lender verification requirements, lower consumer confidence, and on and on.  These factors dramatically affect what a buyer is willing to pay for real estate on a day to day basis.

As the tune in the Rolling Stones song says, ‘you can’t always get what you want’, and I can tell you that you certainly may not get what you feel ‘you need’ for your property under these conditions. 

However, homes are still selling, people are still moving up to larger homes, or moving down to smaller retirement properties, or buying rental properties as investments, or transferring to new jobs, and so on.  Individuals and families are just doing more analysis, fact finding, and setting more realistic expectations.  If I can help you with these critical decisions, feel free to contact me.

This month, I also discuss short sales on my podcast. Listen by going to www.janefairweather.com and clicking on “Bethesda, MD Podcast” .

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