The New Reality for Sellers

Great article in the SF Chronicle about the current market, and how sellers are having to adjust their expectations. Certainly in the Pleasaton and Tri-Valley real estate markets sellers are learning the dynamics of a balanced market where buyers have more leverage.

According to La Jolla (San Diego County) research firm DataQuick, Bay Area home sales slowed in July to their lowest levels in 10 years, while prices increased at their slowest pace since 2003. Translation: It's not a seller's market anymore. The only problem? Many sellers don't want to hear that.

"There's a disconnect between buyers and sellers," says Dona Crowder, a former president of the San Francisco Association of Realtors and a broker with Pacific Union-GMAC, "We've shifted to a normal market where buyers can negotiate, where they're no longer in hurry. But some sellers are not aware of the change."

She describes a recent listing in which sellers put their home on the market for $1.75 million but when they got a single offer for $1.68 million, with no contingencies, the sellers turned it down. "We urged them to take it," Crowder said, "but they didn't want to go below 1.7."

She says it's hard to convince sellers on issues regarding pricing because they are often basing their ideas on sales prices from months before. "Pricing is a matter of perspective. Until you have the perspective, you can't see anything."

Eventually, the asking price for the house was reduced to $1.699 million. It received no offers. Now it has been removed from the market and will soon be relisted at $1.599 million.

Read the whole article.