As we predicted here beginning 3 months ago, the Seattle Times has finally caught up with the changes in the local residential real estate market that have been evolving over the last 6 months.
This is great news, especially for those that have been “under water” the past few years. However, we predict a caveat accompanies this news: the shortage of available properties for sale will do more than just raise prices. It will also bring out the speculators i.e., sellers that will list their property not necessarily because they want to sell, but to speculate that someone will be anxious enough that they will severely overpay. Weak brokers are inclined to indulge such sellers. Experienced brokers will be smart enough to avoid them.
The problem with this behavior is that it discredits the real estate market in general, and it confuses buyers to the point that they may decide not to participate until things settle into normalcy.
To the sellers that have been waiting, we hope that you haven’t waited too long. We anticipate a crush of new listings over the next few months, and that may deflate some of the recent gains.
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