Taylor-Made Homefront: Buyers recognize market changes before sellers do

By Chad Taylor, the Taylor-Made Team

One of the things I’ve learned after 21 years in real estate is that buyers often recognize changes in the market before sellers do.

That may sound backwards.

After all, sellers own homes. Buyers don’t.But buyers are studying today’s market. Sellers are often pricing their home based on yesterday’s market.

That’s an important difference.

As I reviewed the June housing numbers for Northeast Johnson County, one trend stood out to me.

Inventory remains historically low because fewer homeowners are choosing to sell. That lack of inventory has made the market feel very competitive.

But underneath those headlines, the market is sending a more subtle message.

Median sales prices softened compared to last June. Days on market crept up slightly. And while some homes continue to receive multiple offers within days, others are sitting on the market much longer than expected.

That doesn’t tell me buyer demand has disappeared.

It tells me buyers are becoming more selective.

Here’s why I believe buyers often recognize these shifts before sellers do.

A serious buyer may spend several months watching every new listing that comes to market. They’ve toured several homes. They’ve compared floor plans, condition, location, and pricing. They’ve watched some homes receive multiple offers while others require price reductions after only a few weeks.

By the time they walk through your front door, they’ve become experts on your price point.Most sellers don’t have that same perspective.

Many homeowners begin paying attention to the market only after they’ve decided to sell. They naturally remember the neighbor who received five offers or the home down the street that sold for a record price. The challenge is that those sales represent yesterday’s market.

Buyers are making decisions in today’s market.

That distinction is becoming more important.

Low inventory is still giving sellers an advantage, but it isn’t giving every seller unlimited pricing power. Buyers are still willing to compete for homes they believe represent a great value. They’re becoming much less willing to compete for homes that are priced based on what the market was doing six months ago.

To me, June’s numbers confirm that pricing is more important today than it has been at any point this year.

Historically, July is when our market begins its normal seasonal slowdown. Families squeeze in vacations before school starts, and many buyers naturally hit the pause button for a few weeks.

That seasonal shift happens almost every year.

What I’ll be watching closely over the next few months is whether our normal seasonal slowdown is compounded by the more selective buyer behavior June’s numbers are beginning to reveal.

The market doesn’t change because sellers decide it has changed.

It changes because buyers change how they behave.

And by the time sellers recognize that shift, buyers have often been responding to it for weeks.

If you’re thinking about selling this year, don’t just ask what your neighbor’s home sold for.

Ask what today’s buyers are willing to pay.

Those are two very different questions.