What do sellers need to know in a shifting real estate market? Today I’ll discuss four key points sellers should think about.

What even is a shifting real estate market? It doesn’t mean that the market is going crazy like it did in 2010; it could mean several different things. For this discussion, I’ll be referencing the market specifically in Portland and Southwest Washington.

In the Portland metro, the shifting market means this: Year over year, there have been 65% more price drops for the period of this last month. There are properties that are worth less money now than they were in, say, May. 

That is, in essence, what you should expect to see in a shifting market—some values dropping down, longer days on market, and more price reductions.

Even still, our overall market is healthy. Here are some key points for sellers to think about:

1. Active and pending listings are your key. When you’re looking for comps, you can’t look at a property that sold in June or July because the fact is that the May market was better than it is now.

2. There’s always a seasonal downturn in the fourth quarter. Values traditionally peak in July, but they peaked a little earlier this year.

“If you overprice your home in a shifting market that has either plateaued or is going down, then you could get yourself in trouble and lose value.”

3. You need to prepare your home for sale before you list it.  In early spring, you could just throw your property on the market without much prepping and still get offers on it, but you can’t do that in this market. Competition from other sellers is hitting the market—you need to be sure that when you’re listing your home, it’s ready to go out of the gate.

4. When listing your home, don’t overprice it. If you overprice your home in a shifting market that has either plateaued or is going down, then you could get yourself in trouble and lose value. 

However, remember that real estate is micro-local: There are some neighborhoods in the Portland area that still don’t have homes on the market. If  we had to make a forecast for the fourth quarter, I’d say to expect to see this trend continuing, especially with the seasonal downturn.

If you’re planning on selling your home, be sure to follow these tips. If you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to reach out to me.