Are we entering a Buyer's Market?

I am sure all the sellers out there have enjoyed the summer months, multiple offers and ability to negotiate up on the sale of their home, selling quickly and walking away happy and lucky! Recent market trends have proven there may be a halt in the ability of sellers to still have the reins of the market. A recent report published by ARMLS® STAT - November 8, 2013 here in Phoenix indicates the shift in the market is coming and perhaps a little faster than some may welcome. What does this mean for you? If you are a seller you will be noticing days of market is a lot longer than 4 months ago, coupled with a median price that has remained flat over the last 4 months and a typical homeowner having to reduce their asking price several times or be willing to negotiate with the buyer more for the buyer's benefit. But in turn that means a better deal for you the buyer as well if you are looking to move. It is extremely hard in a cyclical market to not only sell high but find that bargain buy that is your dream home for low as well. Remember as a seller what your main goal is, if it is to buy a different, better, bigger, smaller, more affordable, less maintenance, shorter commute, another state, single level, bigger back yard, more garage space, RV gate, more land, etc. The price that you will receive for your home is only relevant at the time that you wish to sell and therefore if you wait until you can get exactly what you think you should get for your home, your opportunity to buy and get a deal on what you want may have already passed you by. In 12 years of real estate and seeing all the ups and downs and market changes I know that if you wait too long for the perfect situation you not only lose out on what you wanted to get or the price you wanted to pay for something new, sometimes you must come down in sales price on the sale of your home so much you can't even make the deal happen. From personal experience I have learned that sometimes us, even as professionals in this industry get caught up in the greed of the market, in the fluctuating risk taking that we can lose a lot more than we have ever anticipated. Years ago my husband and I bought 5 acres with the intention of building a rather large home that we would have and live in for the rest of our lives, a planned "mother's suite" and all. At the time the interest only loans were hot and we decided to put a good chunk of money down, pay a monthly payment and build a little equity in the other 3 investment properties we owned at the time, sell them all, build a brand new home and owe very little. When the market crashed and only 1 of those homes produced any equity (which was used to pay the bills when hubby got laid off) and surly not enough to build our new dream home or pay off the loan on the land, we split the land hoping to sell 2.5 acres for what we owed on the whole 5 and pay off the other 2.5. At the time we wanted top dollar in order to pay it off, instead of selling it and paying down the loan on the whole acreage. This when the market started to crash, banks discontinued loaning on land and halted construction loans at the time. We in essence couldn't give the land away. We started the short sale process which never panned out and ended up walking away with nothing but a $58,000 bill that we had to settle in court as well as our hefty down payment and interest only payments we made for 6 years. Not something I would recommend for anyone out there. Why am I telling you this- the consumer? The person I want to trust me to assist them in making the right decision when buying or selling? What makes me credible if even I make mistakes? I want to use myself as an example of my greed stepping in and wanting the most for my property because I thought it was worth it and I was emotionally attached. I didn't see a bigger picture, I didn't anticipate further market changes. I just wanted everything to work out to my benefit which is something we often do. We lose site of the bigger picture, a home, land, investment, product is only worth what it is worth at the time someone is willing to pay for it. Simple supply and demand. It doesn't make me a bad Realtor, it only makes me human and more able to connect to my clientele out there. Please seek professional advise and assistance whether it is mine or someone else's when selling your home. Even though it may be ultimately your choice if you want to sell your home, what you want or need out of it and if it is even feasible for you. If you are considering buying or selling sit down with a Realtor today. Go over your goals, expectations and risks. Weigh the options of what you are wanting to do and make a decision based on current market and your situation. Below are the current market conditions to help you understand the shift that we are all about to face. Year-over-year: 2011-12 - 2012-13 The amount of sales year over year dropped 13.9% and 4.3% month-over-month The amount of new inventory rose 8.9% year-over-year and 14.1% month-over-month Total inventory rose 15.3% year-over-year and 11.9% month-over-month The average list price of a home went up 19% year-over-year The average sale price went up 18.6% year-over-year However, the average sale price has remained flat since July of this year. Pending foreclosures went down 53.9% year-over-year Short sales went down 72.3% year-over-year This is showing a shift of traditional non-distressed sales dominating the marketplace. Investors are looking to purchase the distressed homes due to the possible return-on-investment. When the traditional sales dominate a marketplace slowing occurs due to less homes being bid on for that "great" deal. October sales declined 13.9% and inventory in October increased 11.9%. This is a huge indicator of a shift in supply and demand that will make an impact on the market and turn it into more of a buyer's market than a seller's market. (statistics obtained through ARMLS® STAT) If you or someone you know is looking to buy or sell or just wants to stay current on the marketplace and would like to receive weekly updates, please follow my blog for the most current information.