Sellers Think It’s 2022. Buyers Think It’s 2008.

Confusion is the common thread among both sellers and buyers. With the unpredictable shifts and uncertainties of the last couple of years, we’ve doubled down on educating and guiding our clients through the market. And one challenge we continue to see is this dichotomy: 

Sellers want the same results their neighbors experienced when they listed 2020-2022. 

Buyers believe our slower market offers incredible deals, like those in 2008-2009. 

We completely understand why you might feel that way. National news media outlets and real estate websites often rely on clickbait headlines that instill fear or provide incomplete information. Here’s the sound data prospective buyers and sellers are using to succeed in their real estate goals all along the Front Range:

Selling Your Home: The pandemic brought about the “unicorn selling season” of 2020-2022, which created an extreme seller’s market where your neighbors’ homes sold for skyrocketing prices through intense bidding wars at lightning-fast speeds. But this was a historical phenomenon. This is a side effect of an unhealthy global-level financial crisis, which our government is still addressing by slowing down the economy with higher mortgage rates. Our more moderate sales prices and longer days on the market are POSITIVE signs for our economy. We’re back to a healthier, calmer, more reasonable sales experience.

Our advice: Use the summer to spruce up and improve your home to boost the asking price.

Read: Is this a Buyer’s Market?

Buying, Upgrading, & Investing: After two and a half years of higher interest rates slowing down the market, it’s clear we will not experience a 2008-like crash anytime soon. Tens of thousands of Coloradans would need to abruptly list their homes within 30 days, shifting the Front Range into an extreme buyer’s market that would significantly decrease average sales prices and our home values. Getting that many homeowners suddenly let go of their homes in Colorado would take a zombie apocalypse or something.  

Bottomline: Home prices continue to tick upwards. Some communities may have seen home values dip or stall slightly over the last couple of years, but the spring market still boosted the average sales price. The only significant price drop we’ve experienced was in Q4 of 2022 (when mortgage rates dramatically jumped to 7% for the first time in years, shocking buyers and sellers). 

Now, the market is more balanced for the first time in over a decade. 

Buyers certainly have more negotiating power, but they can’t expect sellers to “give away” their homes. The chances are still high that sellers will receive an offer within 60 days. However, sellers need to adjust to the new possibilities: their homes “sitting” on the market, price reductions, and offering significant concessions, among other shifts. So, “the deals” buyers can expect to receive are listings that meet their needs and fit their budgets. 

When you utilize the loan programs, products, and 3/2/1 Buydowns that lower closing costs or your rate (not to mention our larger selection of inventory), you may be surprised by the possibilities. 

Read: Should You Upgrade in 2025?

Ask your RE/MAX Alliance agent for the hyperlocal, relevant market data and excellent vendors and lenders so you can successfully meet your real estate needs!

Sources: federalreserve.gov, freddiemac.com, mortgagenewsdaily.com, nationalmortgagenews.com, Megan Aller, First Title American, Home Mortgage Advisors