The Market Is Testy. Here’s What That Means.

Today's Hot Take is going to be about how the market FEELS. I'm not going to overload you with stats and graphs and jargon. That will be for future newsletters, I promise. I always try and back up my points with data and sources, but that's not what today is about. Today is about the inner-work. The gushy stuff. Today is about feelings and I am holding the feelings stick.

Right now the market feels...cool.

Not cool in a cool way. Cool in a temperature way. If the market was a pool and you REALLY wanted to go for a swim, you could and after a little while, you'd get used to it. Heck, you might even start to enjoy it. It'll probably turn into a great time. If you're anywhere on the fence about jumping in the pool and you have other options to satisfy your desire to get wet, I suggest we have a conversation before jumping in the pool.

Do you see what I'm doing here?

The market right now is testy. Are houses selling? Absolutely. People are buying houses every dang day. That will never stop. Are some houses selling quickly? You betcha. I had clients miss out on a house that went under contract in less than 48 hours just last week. I've had two listings in the last 3 months that went under contract before the weekend was out. IT CAN BE DONE.

Are all houses selling quickly? No. Many are sitting on the market longer. Every morning, my inbox is filled with notifications of price reductions. The challenge in our market is we have about 40% more inventory this month then at this same time last year. That means, buyer's have 40% more options. Despite the interest rate volitilty we still have plenty of people moving to the Triangle so the number of buyers is more or less constant. The added inventory gives buyers choices and when buyers have lots of choices they tend to be pickier and when buyers are pickier they tend not to make decisions as quickly and all of that puts a downward pressure on prices.

So what does this mean if you want to sell your house?

Gone are the days of throwing your house in MLS and getting multiple offers. Price and condition are the most important leverage you have to work with. Seller's used to be able to get away with focusing on just one. If your roof is old or your HVAC was replaced when Michael Jackson's Thriller was at the top of the charts, it is not enough to just lower the price. Buyer's are not taking the risk anymore. There is a strategy to get homes sold quickly in this market and it works. It takes time and it takes money and it takes a skilled team. The numbers show we are STILL in a seller's market. That means done right, with realistic expectations, you can take advantage of that market.

What about my buyers?

Good and bad news. The good news is that you have options and you have leverage. There are houses on the market where the seller has been carrying two mortgages for months and they are MOTIVATED. You have your "pick of the litter" so to speak. We have been able to negotiate price, repairs, and concessions on behalf of our buyers. Because here's the thing - the affordability crisis is real. Insurance premiums have gone up, the cost to repair pretty much anything has gone up, interest rates are going up and don't show any signs of coming down. The struggle is real. Anything we can do to get that monthly payment lower, we're going to try and do and in this market, we're succeeding.

This isn't a doom and gloom post. This is an "it is what it is" post. We can only control what we can control. There are pros and cons to every market. My advice to anyone that is thinking about buying or selling is:

It has to make sense, and it has to make CENTS.

You all know I'll sit down and run the numbers with you to see if making a move is the right move, so I'm not even going to plug my team (even though I kind of just did).

That's it for now. In the AI age, the greatest competitive advantage we have as humans is our voice. Don't ever let them take that away from you.