Homeowners are making a critical mistake when listing their properties, experts warn.
Sellers are overestimating what buyers are willing to pay and pricing their homes too high.
This means they don’t sell and up going ‘stale’ – and they languish on the market unsold. And the more stale they get, the harder it is to sell them as buyers assume there are problems.
Half of all listings sat on the market for 70 days or longer in December 2024, according to data from Realtor.com.
This was up from 61 days in 2023, and represents the longest median time on the market since 2019.
‘Super stale’ listings, properties that have been on the market without a buyer for more than 180 days, made up a quarter of the market last month.
‘Overpricing is the main culprit for listings becoming stale.
‘Many sellers have expectations about their home value that stem from the buying craze of 2021–22 when listing prices shot up across the country,’ a senior economist Joel Berner at Realtor.com said.
Half of all listings in the US sat on the market for 70 days or longer in December 2024
‘Sellers can see what their neighbors got for their homes during that period and are reluctant to list for less, leading to their homes sitting on the market for longer and eventually needing to receive price reductions to finally sell,’ he explained.
Some areas are seeing more increases in ‘stale’ listings than others.
Median days on the market increased the most in Nashville,Tennessee, Orlando, Florida and Rochester, New York, according to Realtor.com data.
There are now twelve states where homes are now spending more time on the market than they did in the years preceding the pandemic, 2017 – 2019.
These include Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington.
‘We’re getting back to a normal market where it takes three to five months to sell a house,’ Florida real estate agent Brian Stephens, told Realtor.com.
‘The sky isn’t falling on sellers. We’re just getting back into a sustainable market pace unlike where we were in the post-pandemic buying bonanza,’ Berner agreed.
After rapid price growth and frenzied buying in the years following the pandemic, the housing market has become stuck after elevated mortgage rates have encouraged those on lower rates to stick where they are rather than sell and move.
Twelve states now see homes spending more time on the market than before the pandemic
Experts believe sellers are simply ‘overestimating’ what buyers are willing to pay
This in turn dampens demand, which exerts downward pressure on prices.
‘Realizing that your home is worth less on the market than it was a few years ago is a tough pill to swallow, but sellers must accept the new normal if the pace of sales is to pick back up.’
After a small reprice average rates on 30-year fixed mortgages are now approaching 7 percent again, according to Freddie Mac.
The ‘Oracle of Wall Street’ Meredith Whitney previously told DailyMail.com that rates need to drop below 6 percent to kickstart the housing market.
The median list price of homes in December was to $402,502, down 1.8 percent from the same time a year earlier, according to Realtor.com.
Meanwhile, recently a luxury interior designer shared the top décor and furniture mistakes that homeowners make when trying to sell their abodes.
Angelica Grab – the co-owner of LID New York, a real estate staging and interior design company – is an expert at ‘showcasing properties at their full potential.’
She knows which interior design trends will impress potential purchasers – and which may subtly be turning them off.
Luxury interior designer Angelica Grab has shared the top décor and furniture mistakes that homeowners make when trying to sell their abodes
She said overcrowded rooms with disorganized furniture can come off as chaotic (stock image)
She spoke with DailyMail.com about the home features that may be preventing homeowners from making a sale.
‘From a design perspective, the furniture and décor in a home can significantly influence a buyer’s first impression,’ she explained.
‘Even though buyers are looking to buy the home itself, the way it’s furnished can have the biggest impact on whether or not an individual will like a home.’
From bright furniture and overpowering artwork to rugs that don’t fit right and outdated light fixtures – here are the small details in your house that may be leaving a bad impression on potential buyers.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .