What is the real price of a home?
It is almost reflexive to say that home prices are high these days. “Of course they are high and going higher every day”, according to popular opinion. We always like to look at the data in Alachua County and Marion County to see what is happening in our market. When you see stories about “real estate”, they are nearly always the national market. Things can be very different in Florida even varying within the state.
So are home prices continuing to rise, pricing more and more buyers out of purchasing? Although home prices have certainly risen the last several years, the data shows that they have stablized in Alachua County. Sure, they ebb and flow month to month but have stayed level throughout the year.
Another thing to look at is what sellers are asking for homes, and what buyers are eventually paying. When you look at the percentage of the asking price vs the sales price month to month it looks like this:
Overall in 2023, sellers got 94% of their asking price on average in Alachua County. Some got more, some got asking and many got less. The same is true in Marion County where sellers received 94.25% of asking price in 2023. When you look at it graphically, you see in Marion County, the sales price was consistently less each month.
Concessions also don’t show up when you are looking at sales price. Sure, the home might have sold for $507,000 but what you didn’t see is that the seller covered closing cost concessions or included a home warranty. Perhaps they invested in some expensive repairs after an issue was found in the inspection period. 2 years ago, concessions were few and far between. Buyers literally had to rush to make an offer and hope to be the one selected, much less be able to ask for significant concessions. Well, higher interest rates and higher prices have changed all that. Technically we are still in a seller’s market but it is MUCH less of one. It is more balanced than it has been in a while.
Remember we are coming out of a wave where home owners gained a great deal of equity and now some of them want to use that to upgrade their situation or cash out. That might mean they also have flexibility on price or concessions to offer if you make them happy with other terms of an offer. Not every seller will come down and nearly none of them will budge if the home just hit the market, but a home that has been sitting for a bit could be a good opportunity for a discount if you really want the home. At the end of the day, everyone wants to get a great deal on anything, particularly a home. But make sure, great deal or not, that home is really where you want to live, at least for now.
Negotiation in a market like this is so very important. That is where an experienced and knowledgeable real estate agent is invaluable. If you would like to learn more about all the factors that go into making a compelling offer or the things buyers are looking for in homes these days, we can help you whether you are buying or selling. Just contact us today.