While New Homes See Fresh Competition, Older Houses Sit Unsold

In a market correction, homes are taking longer to sell, bidding wars are more infrequent, and prices are beginning to fall from record highs, but that doesn’t necessarily mean now is the best time to buy a home. Fixer-uppers in less desirable markets are spending the most time on the market before undergoing price reductions, but new turnkey homes continue to sell at a lightning-fast pace, Realtor.com reports.

While mortgage rates have fallen within the 6% range, borrowing costs are substantially higher than they were just a year ago, and home prices are also historically high even in markets that are cooling off post-pandemic.

“If the house is perfect, the odds of someone else wanting it are high, too,” says Geena Peoples, an Austin, TX–based real estate agent with The Juice Group at Compass.

“Back in 2021, you could list just about anything and there would be a line out the door,” says Peoples. She used to see dated homes with cracks in the foundation and the walls on the market, and buyers would still pounce on them.

But those days seem to have ended, at least for now.

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