America has entered a new era of home selling. A survey of home sellers by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC found that since 2014, more than one in four sellers nationally sold their home in less than two weeks. Yet despite a preponderance of multiple bids and offers above asking price, today’s home sellers are twice as likely to choose an offer based on emotion rather than money alone, compared to pre-recession years.
“There is a notable difference in seller psychology today compared to 10 years ago,” says Budge Huskey, president and chief executive officer for Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “The national housing market has changed significantly over the past decade, and seller sentiments have evolved. Home sellers often want to feel emotionally connected to the buyer. These findings should give solace to buyers in highly competitive markets who may present a compelling story as to why they should be the next owners of the home.”
The survey of approximately 1,500 home sellers analyzed trends over the following time periods:
- 2014-2015 – Recent Years (Sellers Today)
- 2010-2013 – Initial Recovery Years
- 2008-2009 – Recession
- 2006 – 2007 – Pre-Recession
- 2005 and Earlier
The Emotional Shift
Prior to the recession, roughly 20 percent of sellers accepted an offer based on emotion rather than money alone. From 2006 to now, that number rose steadily to 36 percent: an 89 percent increase in the nearly 10 year span (see chart).
“While housing has clearly steadied, we have all wondered how the recession might impact home sellers, and we now have additional insight,” Huskey says. “During this recovery, sellers are more aware that their home, which played such a critical role in their lives, will have the same emotional impact on the next occupants. Today, they have more information than ever and want to more actively participate in the sale of their home.”
Other Key Survey Findings
- Homes going faster than they can say “sold.” More than one in four sellers today (28 percent) sold their home in less than two weeks. This is a notable difference from even pre-recession years, where only 19 percent of homes sold this quickly.
- Multiple offers are back on the table. Compared to the initial recovery years, more sellers are receiving multiple offers (47 percent versus 40 percent).
- Once again getting offers above asking price. During the recession, sellers were half as likely to receive an offer above asking price. But in the past five years, it has bounced back to pre-recession levels (27 percent today and 28 percent during the initial recovery years, compared to 14 percent during the recession).
- No longer feel the need to take the first offer. During the recession and initial recovery years (59 percent and 58 percent respectively), significantly more sellers took first offers than today. Now, only 46 percent take the first offer, a 22 percent decrease.
The full survey results are available here.
