By Jorge Antonio Vázquez Buendía
01 Mar 2024, 10:15 AM EST
A Zillow report shows that both buyers and sellers should prepare for a competitive home buying season this spring.
The latest report from the real estate agency highlights that well-priced homes are being sold out quickly, while those that remain on the market are seeing their sales prices reduced.
“Some of the homes lurking on the market may simply need the right buyer and digital appeal to cast a wider net, but many may be overpriced. “There are slightly more homes for sale than this time last year, and there is still a lot of competition for well-priced homes,” said Skylar Olsen, chief economist at Zillow.
“Buyers should prepare their credit scores and sellers should prepare their properties now – attractive listings will be pending in less than a month and time on market will shorten in the coming weeks,” Olsen added.
According to the report, buyers who are already touring virtually and in person could negotiate a deal on a home that was waiting just for them. But that’s probably not the case in places where the median time on market for homes sold has fallen the most since last year: Las Vegas (32 days less), Phoenix (30) and Seattle (28).
Where are the “deals” running out and where are they plentiful?
Zillow notes that price cuts are much less common than a year ago in expensive western metropolitan areas: Seattle, Las Vegas, Austin and San Jose.
While price cuts are more frequent in the Florida and Texas markets and in Phoenix. These are areas where total inventory is higher than before the pandemic (such as in Austin and San Antonio) or where inventory declines are comparatively low.
Zillow data reveals that all of this points to a relatively competitive home buying season in which attractive listings are moving quickly, where demographic factors and a relatively strong economy mean large numbers of millennials and baby boomers are looking for homes , even as affordability remains a major challenge.
Zillow says: “Buyers should get their credit in order, talk to a loan officer to understand their budget, and search by monthly payment to make sure their search results stay within their budgets, regardless of price variations. mortgage rates.”
For sellers, the real estate agency notes that: “It is important to work with an agent who understands local market conditions and correctly prices your home. Sellers can make their home stand out by improving its curb appeal online – Listing Showcase drives more views, saves and shares on Zillow.”
To see the full report and its methodology, go here.
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