The Third Quarter Housing Market Report was released today, as prepared by Jud & Associates.  There is a lot of interesting information I will be sharing in a series of blog posts about what is happening in the Guilford County market.

A few take-aways at first glance:

1. Days on Market, or as the report calls it Time on Market, has increased to 127.3 days.  That is up 16.3% from last year at the same time.  It is taking longer to sell a house.

2. Sales are averaging at 93.3% of list price.  So if your home is listed for $200,000 that means it would have sold for around $186,600.

Put those two together and that means: It is going to take longer to sell your house, and it will be selling for less.

What can you do about this?  How can you keep your house from being on the market as long and sell for a higher price?  The best advice I can give is to make sure you are priced right the first time, and re-evaluate pricing on a regular basis (monthly!).  Also, be sure your home is staged, clean, and ready for a buyer to fall in love!  You have to be the shiniest apply in the bunch to get picked!