Price Drops Surge in Collin, Dallas & Rockwall:
A Great Opportunity for Buyers!
According to NTREIS Trends, over the past three years, home sales increased in February and peaked in May. This doesn't mean homes don't sell in the last half of the year. They do, but there is generally less inventory, hence, less sales. That makes sense, right?
Therefore, this time of year makes sense as to why we see so many price reductions. Those homes that didn't sell during the end of summer months want to be sold now. The most significant statement a seller makes when they adjust the price on their property is that they are saying, "Hey, Look at me. I'm motivated! " Over 1500 price reductions happened in the first week of October in Collin, Rockwall, and Dallas counties! That's very good for buyers, and there are a lot of opportunities right now! Our job as your Realtor is to get the house sold, but we also keep you informed of the market around your property every week so you can adjust accordingly.
Why are there so many reductions? Simple: Besides the summer holdovers, more listings were added. The supply of homes has crept up over the past few years. Sellers want to correct their homes' prices and sell them as soon as possible. At this time of year, we're in the home stretch before the Thanksgiving holiday to get contracts on listings, so they're closing by the end of the year. Check out the line graph below, which shows the housing supply (in months) report over the past ten years. The last data point on the chart below shows that selling every home currently listed in NTREIS would take almost six months. If you look at January 2022, it would have taken two to three weeks to sell all the inventory on the market. (NTREIS - North Texas Real Estate Information System - aka our regional MLS)
Why do sellers occasionally overprice? Sometimes, a home is priced correctly at the time but shifts in the market can quickly move the needle up or down. Remember 2021? Homes were priced correctly, and multiple offer madness ensued. Fast forward to 2024. With more inventory and higher interest rates, it naturally takes longer for homes to sell. And the length of time correlates with closing prices.
Some sellers also want to test the "wiggle room" theory for a smidge of room to negotiate. This can work as long as you are positioned within the target bullseye. When providing opinions on pricing, we deeply review recent sales and active listings to give you possible outcomes based on different pricing scenarios.
When pricing homes, we're looking back at the homes that sold in the past 60-90 days and, more importantly, what is currently listed. Why do we look at active listings? Do football players study films about their opponents before a game so they know their strengths and weaknesses? YES! You have to know your competition and where you want to position yourself in the game.
Over 500 homes went under contract in Collin, Dallas, and Rockwall counties last week. In closing, people are buying, sellers are negotiating, and over 1200 new listings hit the market in these three counties in the first week of October.
Every housing market requires excellent strategy, but this particular market requires more patience.
