If you’re in the market for a new house, you might be in luck. According to Redfin, with houses being on the market longer, homebuyers have a better chance of negotiating prices and snagging their dream home. In the last four weeks, the average house spent 19 days on the market, which is one day longer than last year.
This is the first time in the last two years that the median time on the market has shown a year-over-year gain. House sales and prices have fallen as the industry adapts to this newest change.
“Buyers, who earlier this year had to race to beat the competition, can now take their time touring homes and perhaps even wait to see if sellers drop the price,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “Still, few homes are being listed, so if your dream house hits the market, you should negotiate hard, now that you have the power to. The value may fall in the near term, but if you plan to live there for five or 10 years you will almost certainly gain home equity over that horizon. Sellers, on the other hand, may want to list sooner rather than later, before prices fall more.”
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