In the last 3 weeks, the number of homes sold in Ashburn that were on the market for 30 days or less was almost 40% of total sales. On the other hand, almost the same percentage of homes sold were on the market for 6 months or more (37%). Why is this happening?
The short sales cycle for new listings can be attributed to proper pricing (listing price). In the last 4 or 5 months, prices have remains fairly consistent. This has allowed sellers and their agents to make a pretty accurate assessment of current market value and be confident in their analysis. The prices that houses are selling for is no longer a rapidly moving target as it was for the last 4 or 5 years.
The houses that are taking 6 months to sell can be attributed to pressure. These are houses that have been incorrectly priced for one reason or another. After having the market reject their price for 180 plus days, after seeing their neighbors sell and after pleading from their agents to make a price adjustment, the owners have finally come to the realization that perhaps their home isn't worth as much as they thought or hoped.
Interestingly, there is not much difference in the prices these two sets of sellers are getting for their homes. Similar homes in the same neighborhood are fetching very similar prices whether they have languished on the market for months or listed just a couple of weeks.
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