The average purchase price for the county was down $15,000 last month. You NEVER see that high of a fluctuation value anywhere else in the country unless it’s the start of a recession. What this translate to is that even a motivated seller (as long as they are informed and understand the market) is much more willing to hang on to their property for several more months because when the buyer’s market does turn (as it always has) they can sell for much more than a panicked seller.

I’m thinking that a motivated seller who is both informed and understands the market is going to take the first possible opportunity to get the heck out of his house. I can’t believe that this hypothetical person is going to believe that the “buyer’s market” is only going to last a few months. Rather, I think they’ll be asking themselves the musical question “If average values drop $15K in one month, how much will they drop in four months? If spring and summer are traditionally the time for folks to buy, how many buyers are going to be there in the fall? If the inventory was 8,000 last year, and it’s 22,000 now, how many homes will be for sale in September.” Okay, that’s more than one musical question, but the tune ought to be familiar to anyone needing to sell a house right now. I’ve got a feeling that their chorus is going to be “Motivated Seller, Looking at all offers, Sell Now!”