The real estate pendulum is always swinging. In 2011 it was a buyers market,10 years later it is the opposite. Granted, the DFW equivalent of a buyers market was nothing compared to such markets as Las Vegas, Reno, Phoenix and a few others, but it was a trying time that saw sellers make great concessions to bring a buyer to the closing table. Today, it is an absolute beating for buyers. Thanks to a diminished inventory, millions of people fleeing high-tax, high-regulation states, and historically low interest rates, There is simply more demand than supply.
Typically, the fall sees a significant decrease in activity, and sales prices tend to level off all the way through winter. There are quite a few factors that contribute to this. Fewer buyers equate to longer listing times and, in theory, price reductions, but in the fall there is also an inventory of homes that for one reason or another didn’t sell during the summer. It could be price, condition, or a number of other factors, but these properties remaining on market and dropping their prices leads to an statistical leveling off or even slight dip in sales prices compared to the spring and winter.
Does this mean you can expect to get a great deal? Maybe. Does this mean you can take your time with the process? Probably not. I worked with many analytically-inclined buyers in the early 2010’s, and it seemed like they were always looking for an excuse to not pull the trigger. Call it “analysis-paralysis”, or call it being motivated by fear over desire, but even the fall market of 2021 is not for the reluctant.
The playing field will be more level this fall than it was in May, but just remember Dallas is among the hottest markets in America. You may have to deal with multiple offers, but likely nowhere near as many as were faced in the spring.
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