Home sales in the United States remains a strong market, but there's a shift going on that returns some power to home buyers.
After about seven years of a sellers' market, in which there were too many buyers and not enough new and used homes on the market, there now appear to be fewer buyers ready to sign a contract.
There are still lots of homes on the market -- 9% more in March than there were exactly a year ago -- but juggling high mortgage rates with hefty monthly payments may be making buyers more selective since there's not that "hurry up and buy before this property is sold" mentality.
Caralee Gurney, a real estate expert with Apex, says "it has been a quick change, buyers have a lot more to choose from, they don't have to make a decision by noon, they can wait till tomorrow!"
A recent survey showed that two states that have seen a notable slowdown in home sales are Texas and Florida. But Ms. Gurney says homes are still selling, just not a strongly or quickly as in the recent past.
"We're still seeing multiple offers, but a lot more days on market and a lot more inventory, which inventory was a big part of why we had such a strong sellers' market for so long."
There are still some houses that are selling fast, though, but "they're in neighborhoods that are hard to get into anyway, homes that don't go on the market very often," Gurney says.
And smaller homes, the "starter homes" that have been selling so well for years are also seeing a stagnation in buyer interest, adding "they're still selling well -- at their lower prices -- but we're seeing a slower market for those as well."
Gurney says it's good to see home buyers back in the driver's seat again because it takes pressure off families who are just looking for a good place to live, and "buyers have had a long go" at having to compete with other buyers for properties, "and now they have a chance to be a little bit choosier and possibly get a better on a home than they've been able to in the past."