A friend of mine posted to Facebook the following:

I’m taking myself out of the house-buying frenzy until after the end of April.  I can’t take the stress anymore!  I’ve never been so frustrated or disappointed.

This same message is being said by many of my current clients.  Dissatisfied by the low inventory of quality houses in the 1st time buyer price points ($250,000 and under) and tired of being in multiple offers on so many houses, many buyers are stepping back and taking a wait and see philosophy.  From my past experiences, once a buyer takes a break there’s a lower chance that they’ll buy in the coming 12 months but the majority still do.

Many sellers may read this and say: “but my house is priced well and I haven’t received an offer on it!”  Well, if you’ve been on the market for 30 days or more since your last price reduction and are in an area where other houses in your price point are selling, then buyers are telling you that you are not competitively priced.

Most of the buyers that are taking a breather expect that inventory will come back and that prices may slide some after the expiration of the tax credit.  I’d have to say that I agree with them.  While the next few months have historically been the busiest of the year, many of those buyers are being pushed forward into the 1st half of the year and leaving the 2nd half with fewer buyers than typical.  While I don’t expect a flood of inventory or a drastic drop in prices, my belief is that houses under contract by the end of April will be the ones that sell for the highest price of the year.

If you are a seller on the market today you still have two weeks to get an offer – if you’re considering a price reduction in May or June, make it now to make it count.  Come May 1st the world will not end but I do believe that the next 15 days are still your best opportunity to sell this year.