07/15/2025
🛑 “I’m going to wait until prices come back before selling.”
I hear this a lot right now!
But here’s the thing: waiting doesn’t necessarily mean higher prices. What are you basing your expectations on - COVID highs?
Yes, we saw an extraordinary spike during COVID - but it was just that: extraordinary. A rare combination of low interest rates, limited inventory, and pandemic-driven migration patterns created a temporary surge.
There’s a lot of noise in real estate data available online.
Stats like “this month vs last month” or “this month last year” can be misleading - they often miss the bigger picture and can either create false confidence or unnecessary concern.
With a background in data analytics, I prefer to zoom out.
📈 Long-term trends tell a clearer, more objective story.
In this post, I’ll share what I’m seeing in the current market - I don’t have a crystal ball so these are not predictions, just a data-informed perspective on where things actually stand.
📊 When you zoom out and look at the MLS HPI chart, you’ll see today’s prices are still above pre-COVID levels.
The COVID-era jump was not sustainable. Anchoring expectations to that anomaly creates a distorted view of value.
And in today’s climate - with higher interest rates, inflation aftershocks, global instability, job market showing signs of strain and more cautious buyers - there’s little suggesting we’re headed for another rapid increase any time soon.
So when someone tells me they’re “okay waiting it out,” I ask:
What are you basing your expectations on - are you holding on to COVID highs?
1. How long are you willing to wait? And what’s the opportunity COST of doing so? Due to the significant increase in values for all homeowners during this period there is still an opportunity to unlock a lot of that value before it potentially reduces even more.
2. If you sold today, could your equity be working harder somewhere else? Could it generate better returns - whether through investment, debt reduction, or lifestyle goals?
3. Are you selling to buy something else? Because in most cases, you’re moving within the same market conditions.