The first words of last week’s Realtor Magazine title were reassuring to area homeowners with homes currently included in the Mesa County listings: “Sellers Are Calling the Shots…” For most regions across the U.S., that’s become apparent as the summer wore on. Realtor.com’s Chief Economist elaborated: “Prices are rising, and housing inventory is vanishing as fast as it appears.”

The following details bore him out. The Housing Market Index hit 107.7 for the week ending September 5th—nearly eight points higher than January’s. Significantly, that’s the pre-pandemic baseline figure. Median listing prices were up 10.8% annually, comprising the fastest pace of growth in more than two years.

Homeowners mulling the prospects should they decide to add their properties to the Mesa County listings would also have been encouraged by the shortening of U.S. Days on Market: 12 days fewer than a year ago.

Even so, the full title of the RM commentary introduced a question not seen recently: “Sellers Are Calling the Shots, But for How Much Longer?”

The note of uncertainty was due to a pair of housing indicators. For one, housing demand had “cooled slightly.” For another, inventory had “shown improvement”—but that, too, only slightly. Inventories were still below the pre-COVID-19 baseline.

The writer admitted those slight turnabouts in the indicators experts watch might not amount to much. “This could be a hiccup in weekly activity,” was one possibility. On the other hand, “they could signal a shift in market dynamics…” That could make sense, given the uncertainties of the “political, economic, and health-related” factors.

For homeowners who’ve been on the fence about whether now is the time to join the Mesa County listings, those future uncertainties could be reason enough—especially if the description of the U.S. market is on target: “…homes are sitting on the market for much less time, despite notably higher price tags.”

The national trends are informative—but not nearly as relevant as what we are experiencing locally. For a no-obligation, pinpointed rundown of results being registered by homes comparable to your own, we hope you’ll give us a call!