During the booming real estate market of 2004-2006, it seemed all a homeowner had to do to sell a home was put a sign in the yard and then start evaluating offers. This is not so much the case anymore, we are back to a “normal” real estate market, where buyers are drawn to value.

How Many Homes Are Selling

While it seemed that every home on the market was selling in the past, it sometimes seems that none are selling today. Because we know neither to be true, Century 21 First Realty now tracks the trend of home sales in the Tallahassee real estate market. The following real estate market graph shows the short and medium term trend of home sales success rates in the Tallahassee real estate market.

What this graph demonstrates is simply the ratio of home sold versus homes listed over different time frames. For example, the “Sold 30″ (Orange) line is the average ratio of homes sold versus homes listed over the past thirty days, whereas the “Sold 180″ (Blue) line is the average ratio of homes sold versus homes listed over the 180 days. We can see that our trend is running from 38% to 45% of the homes are selling.

Do You Absolutely Have To Sell Your Home?

The best home sales advice is actually very simple. If you do not absolutely need to sell your home right now, take it off the market. Period. Anybody who sells commodities for a living knows that generally speaking, the market has some give and take in it. But every so often, you hit a market cycle where you need to let the market recover before normal trading occurs. With 40% of the home sellers being successful, you are wasting time “trying it at $X.”

If you do need to sell your home right now, price it lower than your competition. There is so much inventory out there, you can create a simulated “sellers market” if you price your property well below what buyers think it is worth. Doing this will cause multiple offers which will bid it back up to market value. While it seems counter-intuitive, it is the best way to sell your home fast (and for the highest dollar) in a downward moving market.

One final thought is that most Tallahassee home owners have equity in their home. People who have bought in the last four years most likely do not (unless they put a lot of money in it when they purchased the home), but the home owners who purchased five years ago or longer and did not refinance are most likely sitting on equity.

No Market Cycle Lasts Forever

You always have to remember that nothing lasts forever. The boom market did not last forever, nor will the recovery. The only constant is change! If you are a buyer, enjoy this wonderful opportunity and pick up a great value.

As a reminder for those who subscribe to the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog by email, some embedded pictures and videos might not be appearing in your email and you might need to click the title header to go to your browser where all will be visible. Additionally, if you would like to respond (leave a comment) to this article, you will need to “click through” to the blog site to post your feedback.

Keep checking out the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog every day for updates that include charts, graphs, and analysis of the Tallahassee real estate market.

If you like this Article then please subscribe to my blog through a full RSS feed, or you can . You will be able to stay informed about the happenings in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market. You can also subscribe to this blog and have it delivered by Email.