This is from Ron Phipps of Phipps Realty Rhode Island
And I think he’s nailed a lot of what is going on behind the scenes in his post - The Grand Canyon between Sellers and Buyers
There’s so much good stuff here that I’ve copied practically the whole post.
The average buyer has become a critical shopper. He, she, or they spend much time looking at sold comparables, … BEFORE they actually start to look at specific properties. It maybe simply a characteristic of the latest generation of homebuyers… Yet as a group they are extremely analytical. Many of the buyers I am working with now spread sheet their search. It is empirical. It is not emotional.
The sellers are as a group, well intentioned but somewhat misinformed. The sellers are in most cases genuinely committed to selling. They firmly believe that their house or their neighborhood is better than the recent comparables and competing properties. In many instances they never view any of the competing properties.
The National Association of Realtors just released a new statistic that 94% of buyers between 25 and 40 use the web as their first and primary source in the home finding/acquiring process. This is amazing. ‘Pretty pictures’ in magazines or newspapers are not as effective as online photos, floor plans, videos, etc. The typical buyer speaks a different language and engages the process in a totally different way than the typical seller. The generation difference is amplifying the void between sellers and buyers. For buyers, this is a ‘strategy’ to find a great value. Sellers are trying to sell their ‘home.’ Most buyers are simply more objective.
In Rhode Island, there is a herd mentality among sellers. One bases price on the other competing listings that are NOT selling. The price needs to be based on closed sales. This is a very difficult market. Prices continue to adjust downward. If you do not need to sell and want premium value, take your house off the market, and try again in a few years.
But read it as Ron wrote it - The Grand Canyon between Sellers and Buyers
Thanks Ron Phipps