Redfin Survey: One in Four Home Sellers Report Having No Concerns About Selling

SEATTLE — May 1, 2017 — One in four home sellers said they have no concerns about selling this spring, according to an April survey of nearly 900 homeowners conducted by Redfin, the next-generation real estate brokerage.

The 179 survey respondents who indicated that their home was currently listed for sale or that they were planning to list in the coming year (considered "home sellers" for reporting purposes) ranked "none" as their most common response when asked to select their top three concerns about selling. In a similar survey conducted in January, this response was the eighth-most common, with 16 percent of sellers choosing it.

Last month, 18 percent of sellers expressed concern about finding another home to buy, down from 24 percent in January.

"Despite strong sentiment among current home sellers, the numbers show prospective sellers have been very slow to list their homes. New listings dropped 2.3 percent in the first three months of the year compared to the same period last year," said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. "Would-be sellers are likely waiting for prices to peak; they're trying to time the market to fetch the largest possible gain. Whether the confidence of the current cohort of sellers translates into more new listings in the coming months is the number one question that determines whether 2017 will be a good year or a great year."

Other findings that reveal a high level of confidence among sellers this spring include:

• 21.1 percent of sellers said they would price high since negotiations are inevitable, up from 15.4 percent in January. Still, most sellers reported that they would price in the mid-range according to comparable homes.
• When asked about the balance of power in their market, 20 percent said sellers have all the power, up from 13.1 percent in January.

To read the full report, complete with charts and insights from Redfin real estate agents, click here.

About the Survey
Redfin's survey was conducted between Apr. 12 and Apr. 17, and includes responses from 896 homeowners in 38 states and Washington, D.C. Of this group of respondents, 179 either said their home was currently listed for sale or expressed plans to sell within the next year, and are therefore considered "home sellers" for the purpose of this report.

About Redfin
Redfin is the next-generation real estate brokerage, combining its own full-service agents with modern technology to redefine real estate in the consumer's favor. Founded by software engineers, Redfin has the country's #1 brokerage website and offers a host of online tools to consumers, including the Redfin Estimate, the automated home-value estimate with the industry's lowest published error rate. Homebuyers and sellers enjoy a full-service, technology-powered experience from Redfin real estate agents, while saving thousands in commissions. Redfin serves more than 80 major metro areas across the U.S. The company has closed more than $40 billion in home sales through 2016.