The Inventory Surge Is Here. It's Just... Sitting There.

Remember that wave of fall listings I predicted? It showed up right on schedule. But here's the thing: they're not selling.

Sellers finally listed after holding back all summer, but many priced their homes like it's still 2021. Buyers aren't biting, and interest rates combined with general worldwide unrest certainly aren't helping. The result? Properties are sitting, days on market are climbing, and for the first time in years, buyers actually have leverage.

No bidding wars. No inspection contingencies with problematically high repair thresholds. No writing love letters or offering your firstborn. You have time to think, room to negotiate, and actual choices. Closing cost credits are back on the table. Repair requests are actually getting considered. Taking a week to decide is totally reasonable.

Yes, rates are high. But if rates stay high or go higher, you've locked in today's price with serious negotiating power. If rates drop, you refinance and keep all those favorable terms you negotiated. Either scenario works in your favor. Waiting for perfect conditions means competing with everyone else who's also waiting, and perfect never shows up anyway.

Smart buyers are looking at properties that have been sitting—whether for a week, a month, or a year. They're asking about seller motivation and negotiating terms that would have been laughable a year ago. And they're getting them.

Eventually sellers adjust their prices and things start moving again, or rates drop and the crowd rushes back in. Either way, your negotiating power evaporates. The buyers who move now—prepared, strategic, and within their budget—are the ones who'll look back in two years and realize they nailed the timing.

More choices. Less competition. Real negotiating power. In Greater Boston real estate, that combination doesn't come around often. Ready to see what's actually available and what we can negotiate?