The Market Has Changed. Our Expectations Have to Change With It.

There is a strange tension in real estate right now.

Sellers are getting antsy. Buyers are cautious. Homes are sitting longer. Conversations about price reductions are happening more often. Some owners are wondering whether they should abandon selling altogether and put their property up for rent. And if I'm being transparent, I think a lot of real estate agents are feeling the weight of this market too.

It isn't because homes aren't selling.

It's because they're taking longer to sell... and many of us are still carrying expectations built in a very different market.

The Numbers Tell the Story

I pulled average days on market for four of the counties I work in most often, and the difference is hard to ignore.

These aren't national headlines. They're numbers from right here in our corner of Virginia.

And I think they help explain why this market feels so difficult.

A seller in Rockingham County who remembers homes selling in roughly a month last year may now be sitting at day 45 wondering what has gone wrong.

Nothing necessarily has.

The current average is 80 days.

A Shenandoah County seller can reach two full months on the market and understandably start thinking, Why hasn't my house sold?

But today's average is 93 days.

That's a very different expectation than the 46-day average sellers experienced around this time last year.

Longer Doesn't Automatically Mean Something Is Wrong

I think this is one of the most important conversations we can have right now.

Days on market are information... but they aren't a diagnosis.

If your home has been listed for 30 days without an offer, that fact alone doesn't tell me we need to panic.

I want to know what else is happening.

Are we getting showings? What are those buyers saying? Are similar homes going under contract? Have competing properties reduced their prices? Are buyers viewing the home online but not scheduling appointments? Are we getting second showings? Has the market changed since we originally established the price?

Those pieces tell us what the days on market actually mean.

If we've had weeks of complete silence, the market may be telling us something about price, condition or positioning.

If we're consistently getting one or two showings a week and buyers are engaging with the property, I may recommend we stay the course a little longer.

The answer shouldn't automatically be drop the price.

But it also shouldn't automatically be just wait.

Our job is to look at what the market is telling us and respond accordingly.

I Understand Why Sellers Are Getting Nervous

This part matters to me because selling a house isn't an experiment.

There may be another mortgage involved. A move waiting on the other side. A vacant property carrying monthly expenses. An investment property that could be producing rental income. Or simply the mental exhaustion of keeping a home showing-ready for weeks longer than you anticipated.

So when a seller asks me at day 40, Should we just rent it?

I understand where that question comes from.

When someone starts wondering whether we should reduce the price, change the strategy or pull the listing altogether, I don't think they're being unreasonable.

They're trying to make a financial decision without knowing exactly how long they'll have to wait.

Unfortunately, none of us can give them that certainty.

What we can give them is context.

And right now, context means acknowledging that 40, 50 or even 60 days on the market doesn't mean what it meant a year ago.

There's Another Side of This That Sellers Don't Always See

I think it's also worth pulling back the curtain on something that doesn't get talked about very often.

Most real estate agents don't get paid when a listing agreement is signed.

We get paid when the property closes.

Everything between those two moments is an investment with no guarantee of a return.

Photography. Marketing. Advertising. Signs. Open houses. Social media. Email campaigns. Follow-up. Showing coordination. Feedback calls. Market analysis. Conversations about strategy. Time spent answering questions, checking activity and figuring out what else we can do to put the property in front of the right buyer.

And as listings sit longer, that investment doesn't stop.

A longer market means sellers are carrying a property longer... and their agents are carrying the listing longer too.

I'm not saying that because sellers should feel bad for their Realtor. That's the business we've chosen, and part of our job is assuming that risk.

I'm saying it because sometimes when a listing hasn't sold, it can begin to feel like nothing is happening.

Often, quite a lot is happening.

The frustrating part is that effort and outcome aren't always directly connected.

I can market a home beautifully. I can follow up with every showing. I can hold open houses, advertise it, talk about it, email it and continue adjusting our strategy.

I cannot manufacture the buyer.

And that's where trust between seller and agent becomes incredibly important.

This Is Where Expectations Matter

I think one of the biggest mistakes we can make in this market is waiting until everyone is frustrated to talk about what happens if a home doesn't sell quickly.

Those conversations need to happen before the sign ever goes in the yard.

What does the current average timeline look like?

When will we reassess our pricing?

What would cause us to make a change?

What would make us hold steady?

How often are we going to communicate?

What happens if we reach 30 days? 60? 90?

Setting those expectations doesn't mean we're expecting a home not to sell.

It means we're building a plan that doesn't depend on everything going perfectly.

A Slower Market Requires a Different Kind of Partnership

There are markets where selling a house can feel easy.

This isn't one of them.

Right now, sellers need agents willing to have uncomfortable conversations instead of simply telling them what they want to hear.

And agents need sellers who are willing to look at the information with them and adjust when the market gives us a reason to.

Sometimes that means changing the price.

Sometimes it means improving presentation.

Sometimes it means changing how we're marketing the property.

And sometimes...

it means doing absolutely nothing for another week or two.

Knowing the difference is the work.

We're Not Failing. We're Adjusting.

I think that's the message I want sellers... and maybe a few fellow agents... to hear right now.

This market is tough.

It's okay to acknowledge that.

Sellers are feeling it. Buyers are feeling it. Agents are feeling it.

But a difficult market doesn't automatically mean your home won't sell. And a home taking longer to sell doesn't automatically mean your agent isn't doing their job.

It means we have to stop measuring today's market against yesterday's expectations.

Look at the data.

Pay attention to the feedback.

Have the uncomfortable conversations.

Change course when the information tells us to.

Stay steady when it doesn't.

And above all, remember that your seller and your agent should be sitting on the same side of the table, looking at the same information and working toward the same goal.

Because in a market like this, the answer isn't panic.

It's perspective, communication, strategy... and sometimes a little more patience than any of us would prefer.

Ashley Dudley | Broker Owner HomeGrown Real Estate

ashley.dudley@homegrownreva.com

540.271.1655