Real Estate Market Shift – Tips for Buyers and Sellers in Charlottesville

The Charlottesville real estate market is shifting. We’ve been in a sellers’ market for several years, and we’re transitioning (broadly, all markets are micro-local) to a balanced/buyers market. For some buyers/sellers (and agents) this is going to be a shock to the system.

Tips for Sellers

1. Be patient
2. Price your home accordingly to the market, and price it to sell. If you price high, hoping to get an offer that you can negotiate down, you might not get that opportunity.
3. Reduce your price aggressively. Stair-stepping down is blood in the water to today’s hyper-aware, knowledgable, and patient buyers
4. Prepare your home; this takes work. Buyers aren’t going to overlook the mismatched paint or the underwear on the floor.
5. Be candid. With yourself and your representation.

Tips for Buyers

1. Be patient. You’re liable to have more inventory from which to choose, and you may not feel the same stressors and pressure you’ve felt (or read about) for the past few years.
   1. Regardless, be ready to move quickly. If you like the house, someone else probably does, too.
2. Be prepared. Know yourself, your wishes, wants, needs.
3. Choose the right representation. Really. There’s a lot of great (and terrible, and terribly irrelevant) information online. Note: I am a Realtor. And have a nifty buyer survey I use with new buyer clients.
4. Buy for the long-term. If you’re looking at a 3 year horizon, maybe don’t buy. Rent. If you’re buying for 5-7 year horizon, imagine that’s 10 years.
5. Get started now; buying a home is a necessarily deliberate process. As I tell my clients, “it’s only a huge pile of money and the rest of your lives.

For Buyers and Sellers

1. Ask questions. About everything.
2. Trust the answers your agent provides.
3. If you don’t trust them, you’ve chosen poorly.
4. Hire a competent agent. Just because your uncle’s cousin’s sister has a real estate license doesn’t mean she’s qualified or competent. Could you fire that family member?
5. Seek to understand the process, and know what you’re getting into.
6. See #1.

DATA

• Albemarle County 3rd Quarter 2018 Inventory
• City of Charlottesville 3rd Quarter 2018 Inventory
• Charlottesville MSA 3rd Quarter 2018 Inventory
• Albemarle_October 2018
• City of Charlottesville_October 2018
• Crozet_October 2018