Buyers around Lake LBJ seem to be giving the market a long yawn right now.
It’s not that there aren’t good properties for sale. There are. A lot of them, actually. And I think that’s part of the problem.
When buyers have this many choices, another nice house can start to feel like… another nice house.
Right now, something has to wake them up. Maybe it’s an exceptional property. Maybe it’s exactly what they’ve been waiting for. Or maybe the price is finally good enough to make them raise an eyebrow and say, Okay. Now I’m interested.
The numbers seem to agree. More than half of the waterfront inventory currently for sale has been sitting at least four months, and about 60% has already had a price reduction. I’m seeing much the same thing in Horseshoe Bay.
Sellers are getting the message. Some just needed it delivered more than once.
Of the 43 Lake LBJ waterfront sales I looked at from the last 90 days, 40 closed below the seller’s final asking price. In other words, a price reduction doesn’t necessarily mean the negotiating is over.
I’ve watched this play out on one of my own listings. We started a little higher than where I thought the market would ultimately respond. There was enough evidence to justify giving it a shot, so we did.
Crickets.
After some time on the market, we made a meaningful adjustment. The showings started almost immediately.
The market has a funny way of settling an argument.
Of course, the market hasn’t completely lost its mind. A buyer’s market doesn’t mean every seller is desperate, and it certainly doesn’t make a great property ordinary. Good homes that are priced correctly are still selling. Some are selling quickly.
So I wouldn’t use this market as an excuse to lowball everything in sight.
I’d use it to be choosy.
Find the property you actually want. Understand why it hasn’t sold. And if you happen to find a good property attached to a seller who’s had enough time to listen to what the market has been telling them?
Now you’ve got something interesting.