“Sellers Win” Market

Low inventory creates upward pressure on values. The SELLER has the advantage.

“Neutral” or Balanced Market

If inventory and demand are balanced, values are normally stable. Neither buyers nor sellers have an advantage.

“Buyers Win” Market

High inventory creates downward pressure on values. The BUYER has the advantage.

For houses, in the starter and move up price ranges, there are significantly more buyers wanting to buy than there are homes for sale. This has resulted in a seller’s market. For premium or luxury houses, the opposite is true. There are many more properties for sale than buyers interested in buying. So luxury homes are in a buyer’s market.

Only lower priced condos are still in a seller’s market.  The majority are dealing with buyer’s market conditions. The condo market has more variables to consider. Oceanfront locations, 55+ complexes, assessments, reserves and the health of the association, etc. These factors sometimes create unique markets by themselves distinct from what other sellers are experiencing in the same price range.

While much of the country is experiencing a similar problem with two distinct markets, it does seem to be more pronounced in our area. Our local market has been stuck in this “two market” situation since the summer of 2016. The two graphs below should make the overall principle, especially related to pricing, much easier to understand.

It should be noted that the large difference between the average asking price and the average sale price is due to the extremely large number of unsold properties in the higher price ranges.

It should be noted that the large difference between the average asking price and the average sale price is due to the extremely large number of unsold properties in the higher price ranges.