The ultimate question “What is my home worth in today’s real estate market?”  I hear it all the time and the short answer that is always true is that “Your home is worth the dollar amount equal to what someone is willing to pay for it and what you are willing to sell it for.”  That number is very hard to arrive at sometimes.

Here in the South Bay we have seen a softening of the real estate market…properties taking longer to sell, prices needing to be reduced, homes needing to be staged and then kept in “showing” condition for the duration of the “marketing period.”  This is no easy task. 

The hardest part of this softening market is finding a price that will attract a buyer.  Sellers that are looking back at what homes sold for a few months ago are looking the wrong direction.  Sellers need to look forward to what will make someone pull the trigger and write that offer.  We need to start seeing what Just Sold or Just went into escrow and then adjust accordingly and not equal to or above those prices…but slightly under those prices.  Properties not aggressively priced are not even getting showings – so those perfectly “staged” houses are not even making a dent.  This is why pricing is the number one key to getting people in your home.  Of course, after they are there it must show better than the house they just saw around the corner.  Buyers are looking at everything right now – they are looking for a deal. They hear words like “foreclosure, bank-owned, short sale” and think they want one of these deals.   They want to be able to tell their co-workers and friends what a great deal they got.

So, you still don’t know what your home is worth – we hope we will all find out soon!