I’ve been watching something unfold in real time. Two homes in the same general price range. Same broader market. Similar enough that from a distance you might assume they’re competing evenly But they’re not.
One of them pulled in over 300 saves in nine days. Three hundred. The other? Maybe 30 in over ninety days. When I see something like that, it tells me buyers are circling. Watching Sending it to their spouse. Texting it to their lender. Probably driving by twice.
And another home in the same area has barely registered movement.Is one $100K overpriced? No. In fact, the seller bought it for about $25K less four years ago. The truth is, you can’t control your neighbors’ decisions.They may be priced similarly on paper, but one seller has more equity and listed more aggressively. The other bought a few years ago, and the market simply hasn’t appreciated as much as he hoped. And this is where it gets uncomfortable. Because the market is not emotional, even though some sellers definitely are.
Sunk cost and ownership mess with people. A lot of sellers feel like they are losing money, even though they lived in the property for years and used it. Is homeowner maintenance something we expect to get reimbursed for? Should we get paid back for the taxes we’ve paid or the AC unit we put in two years ago? Last time I checked, AC isn’t an upgrade. I don’t say that to be harsh. Just honest. Buyers are not looking backward. They are not looking at what someone paid two years ago or what a neighbor got at the peak. They are not even looking at what you “need” to net. They are looking sideways. They are comparing what is available right now to the next best option. My husband likes to remind me that you only get to spend your money once. That is especially true when buying a home. If your house is priced based on preference, or defensively because you assume people will negotiate you down, you may never even get the chance to test that assumption. Buyers will just move on.
If you’ve been on the market longer than the number of saves you have, something is off. Saves are a signal!!! Zillow saves aren’t everything, but they are a signal. When a house racks up 300 saves in a week and a half, it means it’s positioned inside the conversation. Buyers feel like it’s worth watching. Maybe it’s priced sharper? Maybe it shows better? Maybe it just feels like stronger value compared to what else is active? When another home sits, that’s a signal too. Not that it’s bad. Not that it won’t sell. But that in that exact competitive bracket, buyers believe they have better options. And right now in many Pensacola price ranges, they do.
Absorption rate Is everything in a shifting market. If there are 15, 18, even 20 homes active in a similar range and only one or two are selling each month, that creates months of supply. That’s absorption rate, it actually matters. Weird that some agents don’t calculate it. Buyers can wait. In fact, it may benefit them to wait you out. They can skip one and move to the next.
This is not buyer urgency. How can I tell? I have buyers who look at some of my listings three or more times before making a move. They are careful, analytical and stalking or watching. So when one house launches and immediately gets 300 saves, that means something. It becomes the comparison point. And sometimes that leads to the inevitable dreaded tough conversation I warned would eventually happen. I hate delivering bad news. But here is the actual good new: sellers have a choice. They can be in control, or they can be at the mercy of the market.
And that’s not personal. It’s just math. My favorite sellers are the ones who have equity and real leverage. They’ve owned for years. They know they’re still walking away with profit even if the market isn’t at peak anymore.
I had a seller recently like that. We got two offers in 48 hours. None over asking. But he still walked away happy and done. He listed to sell, not to test. Definitely not to see what would happen. He kept his ego in check. He didn’t care that he missed the peak years ago. He was still walking away with a very nice profit. The neighborhood can’t get mad at him for that. It’s not undercutting. It’s a smart decision. In a market with higher inventory, decisive sellers create momentum and that’s what this market needs. You can’t price based on hope, or your preference. And definitely not based on a Zestimate.
The simplest and smartest thing you can do right now is look sideways. What’s for sale like yours? For how much? If a bigger house is for sale for less, even if it isn’t as updated, that matters. If a smaller house is beautifully updated and positioned well, that matters too.
Pretend you are the buyer and you only get to spend your money once. You’re locked into an interest rate higher than most sellers are paying. That monthly payment is very real. Think like a buyer, they are kind of miffed and have lots of choices. Think sideways.
Here is a copy to my FSBO Blue print, or go on me website and read everything there: https://forsalebymiriam.com/fsbo-help-pensacola
https://www.teachany.com/tools/flipbook-maker/preview/RgG1BCRw5Sr97PatueYjd.