Market Update, April 11, 2024

You priced your home the same as the home down the street that sold two weeks before yours went on the market, but it’s not selling.

What could be the problem?

Both homes are very similar – they’ve been well-maintained, have the same square footage, similar yards, and the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms.

The home down the street sold for $760,000, so you and your agent decide to list your home for $760,000, hoping it may sell for even more.

The buyer down the street likely locked an interest rate about 74 days ago when your neighbor accepted their offer. 

The interest rate 74 days ago may have been 6.79%, while the buyer for your home may get a rate of 7.34%.

Even though you and your neighbor priced your homes the same, yours is significantly more expensive.

Both buyers put 10% down, paying $5100 per year for taxes and insurance, 0.5% PMI, and no HOA payment.

The first buyer’s monthly payment would be $5,164. Your buyer will pay $5,417 per month, which means your buyer could pay $3,036 more in the first year than the other buyer.

That may seem insignificant, but monthly payments are critical to every buyer.

If the second buyer wants the same payment as the first, and is willing to put down the same $76,000, their offer price would be $727,000, which would leave them with a monthly payment of $5,177 – just thirteen dollars more each month than the first buyer.

There’s an enormous difference between $727,000 and $760,000 for sellers, but buyers focus on monthly payments as well as the overall price of homes. 

If you’re in a similar situation, you may not need to reduce your asking price by $33,000, but you may want to price lower than what your neighbor’s home sold for.

Automated valuations like the ones you see online don’t consider interest rates, but buyers certainly do, and sellers should, too.