Going from memory (which gets a little hazy at my age), the highest number of properties on the market in here was about 117 back in 2007 and the lowest was about 8 back in 2005. Obviously, everyone knows why the ultra-low number in 2005...but 2007 was another story!
2007 was the "transition" year in the real estate darkness that fell upon us...the speed of the price declines accelerated begining in early 2007, but the homeowners would not believe it yet. Sellers (and agents) continued the old fashioned CMA "look-back" method of pricing, ignoring the market dynamics in place at that time, in their pricing equations. What happened was that sellers and buyers were at an impasse. Sellers still wanted to sell for 2006 prices and buyers knew the game was over...homes sat on the market with sellers and agents not realizing that they'd better sieze the moment...and more and more sellers, hearing about the market softening, tried to sell before the music stopped; but it was already too late. Many, many sellers who said this in 2007 "I'm not giving my house away", would now be thrilled to sell their home for 2007 prices.
The lesson in the 2007 story is this: Most agents old fashioned ways of pricing only work well in a stable market. In a rapidly changing market, with many variables affecting real estate values, pricing is much more complex.
Thanks for reading,
