Selling in Orange County This Fall: Price With Precision

If you are thinking about selling this fall, here is the encouraging part. Even though inventory has risen to 4,982 homes, that is still far below a normal market. The pre COVID average from 2017 to 2019 was 6,569 homes, so buyers have about 32 percent fewer choices than they would in a typical fall. As Steven Thomas at Reports on Housing lays out in his newest report, you are not facing a flood of competition.

The Expected Market Time is 98 days, nearly identical to the 94 days we saw a year ago. The market has not stalled. It has simply settled into its normal seasonal rhythm, and well presented homes are still going pending on a steady basis.

Where your home sits matters. Detached homes are the quickest segment at about 90 days. Condos and townhomes improved from 118 to 109 days over the past two weeks, a nice move in the right direction. And the luxury market above $2.5 million is having its best stretch of the year, with its Expected Market Time down to 144 days and demand up roughly 44 percent from a year ago.

The single biggest factor this fall is pricing. Buyers have choices and they are unwilling to overpay, so the homes that sell are the ones priced to recent comparable sales, not to last spring's headlines. Precise pricing out of the gate protects your equity and your negotiating position far better than testing a high number and then chasing the market down.

Presentation is the close partner to pricing. Clean, bright, well staged homes photograph better, show better, and give buyers a reason to act. In a season when buyers are patient, the home that looks turnkey is the one that stands out and sells.

There is a timing advantage right now too. The busiest listing months are behind us, so fewer new homes are coming to market through the fall. Getting ahead of the holiday season, the slowest stretch of the year, means less competition for the serious buyers who are still out shopping.

If you would like a precise, data driven look at what your home would sell for in today's market, I am glad to put that together for you. Let's price it right, present it beautifully, and get you the strongest result this fall.