When the market shifts from a seller’s market to a buyers market, the sellers can feel the greatest impact.

Let’s say you have an identical home to your neighbor, but their home sold only 12 months ago for $50,000 over the asking price in a multiple offer situation, it’s only understandable that you should expect your home to sell in a similar way.

But here’s the unfiltered truth: it probably won’t. As the market shifts and buyer behavior changes, supply increases while the demand decreases. Homes take longer to sell and buyer urgency goes away, giving buyers the advantage.

If your home has been on the market for several weeks, the showings to prospective buyers have dried up, and no one is coming to the public open houses any more, then all signs may point to the need for a price reduction.

We often hear our sellers justify keeping their home priced where it is based on what their neighbor’s home sold for, or what they’d like to sell their home for. Unfortunately, for the savvy buyer pool, none of these arguments will sell help sell their home. In a buyer’s market, the buyer sets the value on the home, determining at what price it will sell.

If your agent suggests a price reduction, remember: you hired your agent to do a specific job, sell your home. And, you hired them because they have the experience and expertise in doing so. Listen to their advice, take your head out of the sand, and take the necessary steps to sell your home. The good news is, if you are also purchasing a new home as you sell your old one, you will be on the right side of the market in that transaction.