Don’t Sell Your House Before Reading This

Make Sure You Understand the Market Prior to Listing Your Home for Sale

You definitely don’t want to end up like the seller in the photo, waiting to sell your house. Many sellers have been caught in the market shift and are hesitant to course correct. Still, others are hesitant to list their home for fear of making the wrong decision. Fear not! I’ve been in real estate and customer service for nearly 18 years now and have seen many changing markets. I can help guide you through this one as well. Don’t get caught in the shift, educate yourself so you can make the best decision for your situation.

Average Time to Sell Your House

The average days on market went up from 24 days to 30 days in September. This is still quite a short time to be listed on the market historically. Prior to the market going up like crazy, a standard listing time was 80-140 days. Sellers have not seen that since April of 2017. Further, the lowest the average ever got was 18 days, so even though some homes sold within hours, it never dropped the average below 18. We started 2021 at 40 days on market and the entire year never saw below 27 days. So, even in this crazy market, 30 days average is really good.

The only caveat to that is there are many homes above that threshold that have yet to sell. Of the 334 active homes in Lewis County, 69% have been on the market longer than 30 days. If those homes sell, the days on market will most likely skyrocket closer to that 80 day mark.

Average Sales Price

While the current drop can be felt by the average consumer, it doesn’t tell the whole story. On a monthly basis, the price goes up and down and has large swings. Sometimes, this is just because of the available homes for sale that skew the numbers up or down. The 3 month rolling average is a better indicator of trends, seen below.

What the 3 month rolling average shows is other than July and August, September’s prices were the third highest in recorded history. Was it a stark drop? Yes, but when rates were initially raised in the beginning of the year, prices kept going up. It wasn’t until they hit 6%+ that the market started to adjust. It appears that the buyer pool shrunk about the same amount it does during the winter months. I expect the winter to be more steady than usual because buyers that are left are well-qualified.

Average Offer Price

The days of full price offers, as-is, and bidding wars are gone. That’s not to say it still won’t happen, but it’s definitely not widespread anymore. In Lewis County, we are seeing offers being accepted, on average, just under 95%. This must be taken with a grain of salt because homes that sold 6 months ago, even three months ago, are not relevant in this current market. It is imperative that you hire a Realtor who understands this or you might be chasing prices downward. Homes that listed 3-6 months ago and have reduced prices approximately 7-15% are the ones selling.

Is it Still a Good Time to Sell Your House

The answer to this question never changes. It is always a good time to sell your house and let me tell you why. If the market is high, you will make a lot of money on your sale. However, you will also pay a lot of money when buying. When the market is low, you won’t make a lot, but you also won’t pay a lot. If you have to make a move, the market temperature doesn’t matter all that much.

If you don’t have to buy and sell, have you missed the boat? Yes, you’ve missed the peak. Let me repeat though, that September was still the third highest average sales price of any month in recorded history. The market is not crashing, but it does seem to be normalizing to pre-pandemic levels. If you have questions about your particular situation, consider me a resource to help you make the best educated and context driven decision for all your real estate needs.

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If you’re thinking of buying or selling your home in the west Lewis County area, contact me today! I’d love to hear from you! Eren Millam – Managing Broker Premiere Property Group, LLC WA License No. 26933

Chehalis, WA 98532 | Centralia, WA 98531 | Adna, WA | Napavine, WA | Onalaska, WA 98570 | Rochester, WA 98579 | Vader, WA 98593 | Winlock, WA 98596 | Boistfort, WA 

Call/Text: (360) 219-3616 | Email: Eren@LewisCountyHomes.com

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