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Should You Wait to Buy or Sell Because of What the Headlines Say?
If you are thinking about buying or selling a home, it is hard not to feel like you should wait. One headline says prices are falling. The next says they are climbing. Someone on social media says buyers have disappeared.
Here is the short answer: the headlines are written about the whole country, but your home will sell (or your offer will win) in your neighborhood, at your price, against the homes buyers are actually comparing it to.
I have spent many years selling homes in Lakeville, Apple Valley, Eagan, Farmington, and Rosemount, and what I see on the ground is often very different from what the headlines say. Here is how I tell the difference.
Why the Headlines Cannot Answer Your Question
National numbers blend every market, price range, and type of home into one average. That average does not tell you anything about the street you are buying or selling on.
Two things can be true at the same time:
- Homes that are priced right and presented well can still get real attention.
- Homes that miss on price or presentation can sit, and that makes the whole market look slow.
If you only read the headlines, you see one story. If you look at your own area and price range, you often see both.
How I Read a Local Market: The Absorption Rate
The number I look at first is the absorption rate. It sounds technical, but the math is simple:
- Step 1: Count how many similar homes sold in the last 90 days in a specific area.
- Step 2: Count how many similar homes are available in that same area.
- Step 3: Divide to find out how long it would take to sell through what is available.
Here is an example (these are made-up numbers, just to show the math):
- 30 similar homes sold in the last 90 days, which is about one sale every 3 days
- 20 similar homes are available
- 20 homes × 3 days = about 60 days
That 60 days means that if no other home came on the market, it would take about 60 days for the available homes to sell. The lower that number, the more the market favors sellers. The higher it is, the more room buyers have to negotiate.
The math is easy. The hard part is knowing where to look and how narrowly to filter it. Change the area, the price range, or the type of home, and the answer can change completely. That is why a national headline cannot tell you what your market is doing.
A Seller Lesson: 30 Showings and No Offers
I had a home in Rosemount that was priced right. It had been completely updated, and it was spectacular for what it was:
- Brand new roof, siding, and windows
- A beautiful, big deck
- A three car garage
- A cul-de-sac location
But it was slightly dated in the way buyers notice. The wall colors were not the latest, there was a lot of terracotta and natural stone instead of granite or quartz, and the original oak kitchen cabinets worked against it. The home was clean and well cared for, but the look did not match what buyers expected.
We had over 30 showings without a single offer. Most people never left feedback other than “beautiful home, priced right.” That sounds encouraging, but none of it means anything if no one is writing an offer.
So we stopped and looked at it honestly. I talked with several people inside the industry, we went through the photos, and we analyzed the data. Then we took the home off the market and made some changes:
- The interior was painted
- Brand new carpet went in (the old carpet was not worn, it was just brown)
- We reduced the price by 3% from the list price
The home sold in 2 days.
The takeaway is that we did not sit and wait for the market to change its mind. We responded to what the market was telling us. If you want to dig into this, I cover it in a short video: Why didn’t my home sell?
A Buyer Lesson: The Cost of Waiting for Rates
I work with a buyer who kept waiting for interest rates to drop before he purchased. Instead, rates went up, and prices went up along with them. He was priced out of what he wanted, and he still has not bought a home.
He tells me he has real regret about it. If he had listened and offered $5,000 more in a multiple offer situation, he would have had that home.
Waiting for rates to fall is a bet, and the price of the home can move against you while you wait. I get into this idea in a short video: Should you marry the house and date the rate?
So, Should You Wait?
The right answer depends on your home, your price range, and your neighborhood, not on a national headline. Here is where I would start.
If you are a buyer:
- Get the local read first. Look at the absorption rate for the area and price range you actually want.
- Base your decision on your situation and the home in front of you, not on a prediction about rates.
- Know your number before you compete. In a multiple offer situation, a small difference can decide who wins.
If you are a seller:
- Watch the offers, not the compliments. Nice feedback with no offers is the market telling you something.
- Adjust early. If showings are happening but offers are not, do not wait for the market to come around.
- Look at presentation as well as price. It is not always just the number.
Final Thought
The headlines describe the whole country. Your home, or the home you want, lives in one specific market. If you want the local read for your area and price range, that is a conversation I am glad to have.
Related Articles
Is the Housing Market Going to Crash?
Why Online Home Values Are Outdated
Waiting To Buy A Home Because Of Interest Rates? Read This First
Should You Paint Your Home Before Selling? (Rosemount MN Real Estate Guide)
Serving Buyers and Sellers In
Lakeville
Apple Valley
Eagan
Farmington
Rosemount
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