The graph below (two entries ago) shows the average sale price in Bellingham is approaching 94% of list price. This is up from a low of 84% one year ago, and we've been hovering around 90% since then. What's that all about? In a market where home sales are depressed, the number of sales are down, prices are down, why is there one set of data that show some improvement?

 

This is only anecdotal, but I think the answer is that sellers are beginning to price their homes at realistic market prices. Sellers are getting the idea that if they want to sell their home, they have to price it where the market place "thinks it ought to be". Then, when it goes on the market, buyers see it at a fair market price, and they are inclined to pay a price that is close to, or at, the list price.

 

It's very painful for a home owner whose home was worth $270,000 three years ago to list that home for $235,000. And in some cases, that's what they must do in order to sell. Some sellers can't afford to sell that low. They may have a mortgage that is bigger than the current market value. But even those sellers who are not "below water", it's an emotional hit and difficult to accept the fact that their net worth has gone down 20%. And in today's market, that's what sellers have to do.