Market Shifts from Sellers’ Control

Real estate agents say the housing market is beginning to shift from seller control, and they expect price gains to moderate over the next several months, according to the latest ""survey"":http://www.redfin.com/research/reports/real-time-market-sentiment/2013/redfin-agents-see-sellers-losing-their-grip-on-housing-market.html from ""Redfin,"":http://www.redfin.com/ a national technology-driven real estate broker.

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""At the end of this summer, you could smell the rubber on the road from buyers hitting the breaks,"" said Sara Fischer, a Redfin agent from San Diego, California.

The percentage of real estate agents who say now is ""a good time to sell"" a home is on the decline, while the percentage who say now is ""a good time to buy"" is on the rise, according to survey results.

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In the third quarter, 72 percent of agents said now is a ""good time to sell a home."" While still a majority, the percentage is down from 86 percent in the second quarter of this year.

On the flip side, 55 percent of agents say now is ""a good time to buy"" a home, an increase from 46 percent in the second quarter of this year.

Consistent with another Redfin survey released ""last week,"":https://themreport.com/articles/rising-rates-prices-lead-to-waning-competition-on-housing-market-2013-09-29 the majority of Redfin agents--56 percent--noted a decline in competition over the last three months.

Twenty-two percent of agents said they have noticed an increase in competition over the same time period.

While the biggest challenges agents see for buyers are limited inventory and bidding wars, agents identified unrealistic expectations of their homes' values as the biggest challenge for sellers.

The Redfin survey detected a sharp decline in the percentage of agents who believe home prices will rise in the next few months. About 68 percent of agents say prices will rise in the coming months, down from 97 percent in the previous survey.

Twenty-two percent of agents say they expect prices to remain about the same in coming months, up from 10 percent in the previous quarter.

Eleven percent expect prices to drop in coming months. While still a minority, this is up from 4 percent in the second quarter.