On August 14, 2005 we emailed all our listing clients with a message that began, "The seller's market is over; the buyer's market has begun..."
We have increasingly honed our statistics-justified, hard-data-powered, yet empathetic message to prospective sellers that the glory days are over and what they need to be thinking about is cutting prices to sell sooner before it (as forecast) gets worse. This is a difficult and unpleasant diagnosis to receive for many sellers. It is, however, necessary in order to assist them in accomplishing their stated goals: selling their property.
To our surprise lately half or more of the sellers we have encountered have already come to these conclusions themselves. They appear to be less interested in denial, anger or bargaining with unpleasant reality and more interested in figuring out how to accept it and move forward.
Perhaps we have just encountered these sellers by luck of the draw. Or perhaps acceptance of market realities by many homeowners in Northern Virginia has actually advanced in recent months.
What do you think?
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