For now, Daniel Sweeney, a Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices in Henderson, Nevada, is telling sellers not to panic. Buyers are in shock because of higher rates, but they’ll be back, he tells them. Like commuters upset about $6-per-gallon gas, they’ll bend and pay up, he said.
Still, a house flipper is trying to pull out of a contract to buy a property from one of Sweeney’s sellers. The investor had 40 properties listed for sale and “nobody looking at them,” Sweeney said.
“It’s a fast change and that has made people feel concerned that it could get worse,” he said.
The Stenhjems are up against the clock. They’re already paying rent on a one-story home they plan to move to. Jack Stenhjem is 87 and Karlyn’s not much younger, and the stairs in their old house are getting harder to manage.
The price cut has gotten a couple buyers interested but now they’re wondering whether to make some improvements to the house because so many competing properties have been updated, Karlyn said.
“It would be nice to make enough on this home in case we live to 100,” she said. “We’re giving away our house at this price.”
--With assistance from Noah Buhayar.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.