Seller's Market vs. Buyer's Market

In real estate, there are a couple different markets -- A Buyer's Market and a Seller's Market.  There are a whole bunch of variables to determine what kind of market we're in but it basically comes down to how many homes are currently available for purchase.

2013 has been a Seller's Market.  A Seller's Market generally means that if no more homes were to go up for sale right now then all the available homes would sell out in about 6 months or less.  Currently, Snohomish County has about a 3 month supply of available homes.  A short supply of homes means that sellers have the market advantage.  The advantage is that a seller will entertain multiple offers for their home and can choose the highest and best offer.  Buyers in this market need to know how to make their offers competitive in order to get the home they want.  Generally, a competitive offer will meet most of the Seller's requests -- The offer will meet or exceed the asking price and will come with few or no contingencies.  Also, buyers need to know that cash offers are better than a financed offer.  Banks have a lot of requirements that can slow down or even prevent the purchase of a home.

Here's a quick list of things to consider while we are in a Seller's Market:

-Sellers have the advantage

-There is a short supply of available homes

-Sellers will most likely have more than one person put an offer on their home

-Buyers need to have a competitive offer if they want to purchase a home

-Cash offers are better than offers with financing

Let's talk about a Buyer's Market.  In order for a buyer to have an advantage in the real estate market there needs to be a large supply of homes available.  This generally means having more than a 6 month supply of available homes.  Sellers need to be aware that their requests may not be met.  Sellers need to make sure their home is competitive with similar homes for sale in the area -- It needs to be clean, de-cluttered, priced according to the market and easily available for buyers to come in and look around. 

Here's a quick list of things to consider while in a Buyer's Market:

-Buyers have the advantage

-There is a large supply of available homes

-Sellers need to make sure their home is competitive in order to sell

-Sellers need to be prepared to receive offers that don't meet all of their requirements

Labeling the market as either Buyer's or Seller's is just a guideline for Real Estate Brokers and the public.  There are no definitive rules for what a buyer or seller can and should do in any given market.  These are only general patterns that can help us when we want to purchase or sell real property.