REAL TRENDS

Do sellers want to have their cake and eat it too?

Agents, are you ready for the peak-season buying frenzy? Despite numerous speculations that the housing market would cool down due to higher interest rates in 2023, tight inventory has created a much different reality. 

Two recent reports released by Realtor.com and ATTOM shed some light on sellers’ perceptions of the market during this peak homebuying season. 

Agents should use this data to inform their strategies when it comes to working with both homebuyers and sellers in the coming months. 

The data on seller expectations

No surprise, sellers want to have their cake and eat it too. Leftover sentiments from the COVID-19 pandemic housing market still remain, so some sellers believe they will get offers above asking, in cash and in a bidding war. This situation may still be true in some metro areas — especially thanks to the aforementioned tight inventory — but agents must be prepared to show some potential home sellers the light. 

The Realtor.com survey data reported that: 

• 43% expect to get their asking price (up from 27% in 2022)
• 37% expect to have an offer within a week (compared to 33% in 2022)
• 35% expect buyers to be willing to forgo contingencies like inspections and appraisals to make the deal (compared to 30% in 2022)
• 34% expect an all-cash offer (up from 22% in 2022)
• 31% expect to get more than their asking price (compared to 30% in 2022)
• 27% expect a bidding war to take place (compared to 32% in 2022)

The Realtor.com report went on to say that, “82% of these potential sellers feel “locked in” by their currently low mortgage rate.”

According to both reports, any of the sellers willing to give up their 2-3% mortgage rates are most likely moving because they have to. That could mean agents are working with more long-distance movers, work relocations or growing families who need that extra bedroom. 

The time is now

All of these seller-focused data points come to a head when considering research released this month from ATTOM. According to ATTOM’s report, May, June and April are the best months to sell your home. In May there were 4,682,670 home sales with an average sale price of $220,00. 

The report says these months, “offer seller premiums of 10% or more above market value – with the top 16 best days to sell in the month of May alone.”

Realtor.com also weighed in on the ideal home-selling seasonality, including a score system that ranked active listings, new listings, days on market, and views per property on Realtor.com’s website. 

As we continue to move through these peak homebuying months, agents should rely on all the data available to them to serve their sellers best. Homes may be going quickly in some metro areas due to the lack of inventory, but the crazy COVID-19 pandemic housing market has certainly come to an end. 

On the buyer’s side, agents can expect just as many frustrated homebuyers as we saw in 2020-2022. When the right home is priced well in a good area, buyers may find themselves with a surprising amount of competition at the offer table, according to data from both surveys from Realtor.com and ATTOM. 

So agents, where does this leave you? Maybe with a handful of wary sellers but an abundance of buyers, hungry for whatever inventory they find. The lesson? Use data to your advantage. Housing market data can be your light in the darkness, make the most of it to find success in the peak of the buying and selling season.