Although the market is shifting, that doesn't mean that the sky is falling. Listing agents should focus on training their sellers to understand the new realities instead of blindly reacting and giving away the farm in the process.

My college history professor was renowned for a statement he would make to every new class: “The only thing we learn from history,” he would intone, “is that we don’t learn from history.”

Put another way, we tend to have very short memories and seldom seem to remember lessons we garnered from experiences as few as 15 years ago.
It might be time to announce price “refinements,” “improvements” or “enhancements.”

Consequently, because sellers have grown accustomed to being able to sell just about any home in a few short days with multiple offers, the fact that, in this new shifting market, no offers are coming in after a week is sending sellers into a state of alarm.

Truth is, even with increased interest rates and an overall slowdown in the market, the average DOM in South Florida from mid-May to mid-June has only risen to 15 days. That is a mere four days over the numbers from the beginning of this year and we are continuing to see strong offers, many of which are still over asking price.

As a result of the additional time now required to sell homes and the corresponding seller panic, we are seeing a return to tactics that were historically reserved for homes on the market over 30 days. Sellers are slashing prices mere days after hitting the market, buyer agent commissions are being raised, credits for closing costs are being bandied about and offers to buy down buyer’s interest rates are making the rounds.