Home sellers are getting “real” about the market

Plus, a home that embraces the outdoors

͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌  No images? Click here April 20, 2024 • Issue #138 Happy Saturday! This week, we’re looking into a “rebalancing” of home seller expectations and a home with a “private beach” in upstate New York.

Seller expectations are coming back down to earth

Getty Images Mortgage rates may not have done much to encourage homebuyers in recent months, but buyers now might get some help from an unlikely source: home sellers. How can sellers help this buying season? By being more in tune about what to expect from the housing market. According to a recent report from Realtor.com, more homeowners who decide to list are coming to the realization that the days of bidding wars and offers several hundred thousand dollars over the asking price are truly over. “Home sellers have adjusted their expectations. They’re becoming a little more realistic about the current market conditions,” Hannah Jones, Realtor.com’s senior economic research analyst, said in the report. Consequently, buyers can look for more flexibility from sellers. Here are some of the indicators the report points out as signs of changes in seller attitudes compared to 2023: Only 12% of sellers expect multiple offers, compared to 27%. Fifteen percent believe they will get more than the asking price, less than half the 31% who held the same belief last year. Another 15% expect an offer within the first week of listing, down from 37% in 2023. As for contingencies, like forgoing home inspections and appraisals, 15% of sellers expect buyers to waive them compared to 35% last year. The other significant shift in homeowner attitude is around mortgage rates. Almost 80% of home sellers are also buyers, and many have mortgages with significantly lower rates, leading to the “lock-in” effect over the past couple of years. Homeowners feel trapped by their interest rate because it’s much more expensive to buy a home with a new, higher rate.  However, life goes on and it certainly doesn’t care about mortgage rates. Marriages, births, new jobs, divorces and deaths happen. And by now, it seems pretty clear that mortgage rates are going to stay in the high 6% to low 7% range for a while — especially after members of the Federal Reserve recently said the fight against inflation hasn’t progressed as quickly as anticipated (translation: no rate cuts yet). But homeowners who are contemplating a move and realize this is the rate environment they have to deal with are increasingly deciding to take the plunge and list their homes, leading to a bump in new listings. “Seller expectations are moving away from the [COVID-19] pandemic frenzy toward more normal, pre-pandemic expectations,” Jones writes.

The Best Week to List Your Home for Sale... Is Right Now

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Listing of the week

Andy O'Lenick Who knew industrial chic could look so good? Located in downtown Rochester, New York, this week’s unique home has a sleek look and lots of indoor and outdoor space. The lower levels (there are four total) are made for entertaining and feature a chef’s kitchen, wet bar and wine room. There’s also an entertainer’s dining room, a media room, and — wait for it — an art gallery (I’m already there with a wine glass in hand). You can also work out in your private fitness area, which includes a hot-spring tub, wood-crafted sauna and walk-in shower. Use the elevator (or the stairs, you choose) to reach the upper levels of the house, where you’ll find several roof-top terraces with panoramic city views — including one with an outdoor kitchen for those summer cook-outs and, get this, one with a sandy beach! The home is in Rochester’s East End Cultural District and features two bedrooms, four full bathrooms and three half-baths. For $3.4 million, you get all this plus over 10,000 square feet of space. Just reach out to listing broker Tim Tompkins or sales agent Jordan O’Brien at Howard Hanna Real Estate Services. Andy O'Lenick

’Til next time, P.S. Have you seen a unique listing on social media I should feature in this newsletter? Or have a question about housing or mortgages you desperately want answered? Let me know on Twitter at @LeslieLCook or via email at leslie@money.com. P.P.S. Have a friend who loves real estate or is looking for a home of their own? Please forward them this email or send them to the Money Moves subscription page.

Money’s Essential Home Buying Resources: Spring

On the hunt? Check out Money’s Mortgage Calculator, list of The Best Mortgage Lenders and look at the latest mortgage rates. Thinking of refinancing? Our list of The Best Mortgage Refinance Companies can help. You can also use our Mortgage Refinance Calculator or these refi tips. Key question: How much house can I afford?

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