$\"Confused$ \n

Whether you own a house already or you\u2019re looking to buy one, you probably care about home prices. But it\u2019s not always easy to figure out what\u2019s really happening right now, especially if you look at the headlines.<\/p>\n

One says home prices are falling<\/em><\/strong>. The next says they\u2019re still climbing<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

So, which one\u2019s right? It comes down to where you live.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Really Going on with Asking Prices<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Part of the confusion out there may be based on what\u2019s happening to asking prices and how the media is talking about it. They\u2019re calling attention to how asking prices are falling, but don\u2019t give the full context or say that seasonality is at play. So here it is.<\/p>\n
Right now, there are more homes<\/a> on the market than at any other time since November 2019. And with mortgage rates rising since the spring, those homes are taking a little longer to sell. One way to help a home sell quickly in that environment is to have a lower asking price.<\/p>\n
According<\/a> to HousingWire Data<\/em>, the median asking price is down from $449k in early August to $435k just 2 months later (see graph below<\/em>):<\/p>\n
$\"a$ <\/p>\n
That\u2019s a dip of about 3%, and a lot of it is normal for this time of year<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Asking prices cool off every fall once the busy summer season wraps up. With fewer buyers this time of year, sellers price a bit more competitively. Today\u2019s rates play a role too, since sellers are pricing to match what buyers can afford right now. And that\u2019s a good thing. Smart pricing helps homes sell.<\/p>\n
Just keep in mind, that\u2019s a national list price. It doesn\u2019t show what homes near you are actually selling for. So before you react to a headline, ask a local agent what\u2019s really happening in your area.<\/p>\n
Where You Live Changes Everything<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Realtor.com<\/em> explains:<\/p>\n
\n
\u201cWhile national headlines might suggest a buyer\u2019s market is taking hold, <\/em>the reality on the ground depends heavily on where and what you\u2019re trying to buy. Local trends can diverge sharply from national averages,<\/em><\/strong> especially when you factor in price range, property type, and post-pandemic market dynamics.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The latest numbers<\/a> from S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Index<\/em> show how true that is. Over the past year, sales prices in Chicago rose almost 7%. In Seattle, they dipped about 1.6%. That\u2019s a gap of nearly 9 percentage points between two major cities (see graph below<\/em>):<\/p>\n
$\"a$ <\/p>\n
That gap changes your game plan. Selling in New York, where prices are up almost 6%? You may not need to cut your price<\/a>. Buying in Denver or Las Vegas? You may have more room to negotiate.<\/p>\n
Why You Don\u2019t Need To Worry About a Crash<\/strong><\/h4>\nJust in case you\u2019re seeing those slight declines in some markets and worried it means a bigger crash<\/a> is coming, here\u2019s what you need to remember. Even in the major metros where prices are down, the declines are 2% or less. That\u2019s a long way from a crash like 2008. And if you look back at the graph above, there are more cities in the green than in the red.<\/strong><\/p>\n
And over time, home values<\/a> have a strong track record. The Federal Housing Finance Agency<\/em> (FHFA) says<\/a> national prices have grown year-over-year every quarter since 2012. Go back further<\/a>, and a $100k home bought in 1991 would be worth about $436k today, even with the 2008 crash factored in (see graph below<\/em>):<\/p>\n
$\"a$ <\/p>\n
So, this short-term dip probably won\u2019t stick around. The small declines we\u2019re seeing now are in markets that overheated during the pandemic. As a whole, the market is headed back to normal \u2013 and normal means prices should rise over time.<\/p>\n
Bottom Line<\/h3>\n
National headlines can\u2019t tell you what your home is worth or how much room you have to negotiate. Local data can. If you\u2019re thinking about buying or selling, connect with a local real estate agent to look at how prices are moving in your area, so you can set your price or make your offer with confidence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Whether you own a house already or you\u2019re looking to buy one, you probably care about home prices. But it\u2019s not always easy to figure out what\u2019s really happening right now, especially if you look at the headlines. One says home prices are falling. The next says they\u2019re still climbing. So, which one\u2019s right? It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6744,"comment_status":"registered_only","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[29,27,20,18,28],"class_list":["post-6743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate-insight","tag-idaho-real-estate","tag-north-idaho-homes","tag-rain-silverhawk","tag-real-estate","tag-sandpoint-idaho"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t