Who's Unrealistic? Sellers or Buyers?

I've been thinking alot lately about where the happy medium is in our marketplace. Truth be told, we are actually doing much better in The Triangle Market than other parts of the country. I consider myself lucky that I have transactions working!!

Having worked onsite for builders for almost 8 years in a seller's market gave me one side of the story. It seemed much simpler then. Sellers (the builders I represented onsite) were pretty cut and dry. This is the price we'll sell it for, yes we'll do that, no we won't do that, if you don't buy it then someone else will come along that will. And I know it wasn't much different on resale sides. Sellers had the leverage and used it to their best advantage, which they should. That's the assurance a seller has in a seller's market.

We know that we are not in a seller's market anymore-it's clearly a buyer's market. But in some cases there doesn't seem to be alot of buying taking place. What's going on?

Let's face it-there are more people that want to live in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area than people clamoring to leave it-so if you plan on lowballing, you might encounter one of those sellers who says "thanks but no thanks" to your low offer. That's what I am finding-that there's not alot of desperation with sellers here, so there's been less meeting of the minds between buyers and sellers. And sometimes between listing agents and sellers.


Recently I lost 2 listings because of sellers who had unrealistic expectations about what their home would fetch in this market. The first one was a young couple who have a big house, and want to downsize into a trendy, urban new c0nstruction neighborhood. Well, when all the number crunching was done, what they owed and what they wanted to sell for were pretty far apart. To the tune of about $20,000. I told them in good faith I could not list their home for that higher price tag, knowing that it would not sell.

When I walked out the door, I knew I had done well in my presentation but also knew in my gut that I wouldn't get the listing. Sure enough, they e-mailed me early the following week to tell me they had chosen another agent. I knew when I saw the home posted on MLS, it would be very telling-and it was! The home is listed at that higher price point. I wish them well, but don't think they'll be selling anytime soon.

Alot of people that are selling now probably bought when it was a seller's market, and want to employ the same philosophies. But it's a different time with different circumstances, and the rules have changed.