Understanding what the market is doing is one of the extremely valuable services we provide to our clients. Below are several pieces of the picture as to what the market is doing.

The chart immediately below show how many days the average home is on the market before it sells, per price point, starting at $200,000 and under. The blue bars represent how many days the price range is typically on the market, while the green bar represents the total period the home has been marketed for.

What we, the Cindy Dickerman Team, know to be true is that when you price a home properly, the home sells much quicker than the average home. Many sellers and Realtors make the mistake of pricing the home above where it should be, and then the home chases the market as it continues to drop.

We know that when you price the home just below the curve, you not only sell the home quickly AND for the most money, but your chances of generating multiple offers greatly increases.

Chester County Market Statistics for June through August

Here is a quick look at the price ranges, by increments of $50,000, and how many months of inventory exists for each one. While looking at this, please keep in mind that the rule of thumb in real estate is that when you have 6 months or less  of inventory, you have a “Centrist” market, meaning the market is balanced. Anything less is a Sellers market, anything more is a Buyers.

When examining this chart, it becomes clear that homes that are selling for under $251,000 are actually in a slight Buyers market. Even homes under $350,000 are in more of a “Centrist” market. The reason for this is that a majority of homes under $300,000 are bought by first time home buyers. At the moment, a majority of the buyers in the market fit that category, not to mention the crazy low interest rates and the $8000 tax credit.

This is the type of information buyers need to understand that they cannot throw an offer at a seller that is more than 10% or more off the asking with out offending them and getting laughed at. Yes - there are rare circumstances where a home is listed way to high. But, when that is the case, it usually tells you that the seller is not willing to deal with reality, or their Realtor is doing them a huge disservice.

For any home over the $300,000 mark, this means if you don’t have to sell, then don’t. But if you do remember, it is a price war and a beauty contest. Meaning your home has to show extremely well, and your price needs to be aggressive, and a good Realtor will help you know exactly what that is.