I am often asked how long homes are taking to sell. This is a difficult question and can only be answered with a specific home in mind. I have a pretty good idea what areas and price ranges are moving well so that helps. But the question is still loaded. Beyond location and price range the two biggest factors (and most specific) are the condition of the house and the specific price of the house as it relates to the neighborhood and the market. Clear as mud? Let me give a few examples.
About how long will it take to sell my home? – Scenario 1:
A beautiful ome in the mountains just 10 minutes from Boulder. The current owners purchased it in 2007 for $1.7 million. Since that time they have put $75,000 into landscaping and 1 other house in the vicinity has sold, for $1.9 million last summer. The owners know the market is slow but think that their house is special, they want to list for $1.9 million to match the neighbors home.
Given the current slow market for luxury homes and the slower demand for mountain homes in general, this home needs to be priced very aggressively in order to sell in a reasonable amount of time. This home on average if priced for $1.9 million may be on the market indefinitely.
About how long will it take to sell my home? – Scenario 2:
This cute 1,700 square foot house is located on a quiet street in Louisville. The owners have lived in the house for quite some time and have decided to move into a larger home. They have been thinking about selling for quite some time so they have been fixing the home to sell. It has new counter tops, new carpet and new tile in the bathrooms. They have spent all summer getting the yard really nice. The realtor has suggested an asking price of $350,000. They can see where he is coming from but, they really want to move this fall, so they decide to list for $325,000.
In this market, in order to get the job done in a hurry a home must be priced aggressively. Many times this means listing at a price below what the neighbors house sold for a year ago. This home should sell quickly. It might even have multiple offers.
Below are the current numbers for inventory. In this case inventory is the theoretical number of months it would take to sell all of the homes in a given area if they would continue to sell at the same pace as they have for the past year and no other homes would come on the market. This of course can’t happen but it provides a good measure of market strength. You can see, especially for single family homes that our inventory numbers are up. This is largely due to the reduction in the number of sales. Our sales pace has slowed, so you can expect houses to stay on the market for a longer period of time.
