So, I have been noticing something that I haven’t seen in awhile…price reductions.  More than normal.  What could this possibly mean?

• Buyers are on vacation
• Buyers are feeling burned out
• Listed prices are starting closer to the expected sales price
• Seasonal cool down
• Unrealistic seller expectations

But I am also seeing price increases, meaning it was originally listed for multiple offers and the seller did not receive what they were hoping for.  So they increased the price to what they would take.

I polled El Cerrito, Albany, Kensington, Berkeley and Oakland to see what things were looking like this past week.  Here is what I found:

El Cerrito saw one price drop and 1 price increase
Albany saw one price drop
Kensington saw one price increase
Berkeley saw three price drops and
Oakland saw 16 price drops

>> price changes taken from mls <<

I work with a lot of sellers and the one conversation I always have is about setting expectations.  In a fast moving-market that is full of emotion,  it is nearly impossible to determine what a house would sell for.  For the past 2 years we have seen such a huge gap between the listed price and the sales price.  Now we are starting to see houses that aren’t getting offers on their due date, price changes, and houses being withdrawn.  What do you think is happening?

I am going to continue to track these.  I am curious to know whether the price reduction will get it sold with multiple offers, and whether the price increase will simply get it sold.