According to Redfin agents across the country, more inventory hasn’t brought buyers back. Affordability and financing hurdles are holding them back. The mindset of buyers has shifted since last year. Buyers have moved from “please take my offer” to “take it or leave it as you please.” Sellers are not on on the same page as buyers. Since the pendulum swung completely toward sellers last year (price high, sell fast), they don’t tend to have a realistic baseline for what their homes are worth in the current market. they still plan to list their homes above market value, not realizing they have less power than before.
We do see this baseline expectation among our sellers – who expect their home will sell high and fast – but we haven’t experienced a dramatic shift in market power. Redfin’s national survey really reflect real estate market dynamics on the Peninsula. Instead, we are experiencing the usual seasonal slowness. We see this pattern year after year: prices jump in the spring, hold during the summer, with minor softening in August, then a small bump in the fall. There are a few “Chicken Little” agents in our market who are panicking because their listings sit longer than usual. These agents weren’t tuned into the market enough to adjust their pricing strategy, and are left holding the bag. We detected this seasonal slowness, and have shifted to the right strategies for buyers and sellers in this market moment.
