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🏡 Buyer’s Market... So Why Won’t This Seller Budge?

🏡 Buyer’s Market... So Why Won’t This Seller Budge?

Real Estate Issue #50 - Plus, which homes are actually doing the work this Labor Day — and the listing myth that could cost sellers money.

Brenda McEwan
05 Sep

Good morning, friends — Happy Saturday! 🏡

Good morning, Brenda here, and welcome to this Labor Day weekend edition of Home Sweet Buzz! 🏡🐝

As summer starts winding down, the real estate market is giving us plenty to talk about. This week, we’re looking at which homes are actually doing the work right now, why a so-called “buyer’s market” can still feel surprisingly competitive depending on where you’re looking, and one common Labor Day listing assumption that could be costing sellers money.

We’ve also got your Weekend Open-House Report if a little house hunting happens to make its way into your long-weekend plans.

So grab your morning beverage, enjoy the extra bit of weekend, and let’s see what the local market is telling us this week. 👇

Brought to byTodd Porter, SURE Synergy United Real Estate Group

🏡 Which Homes Are Doing the Work
This Labor Day?

Labor Day is about recognizing the people who show up, put in the hours, and get the job done.

This week, we decided to ask the same thing about Davis County real estate: which homes are actually doing their job — and which ones are getting stuck on the bench?

The newest numbers are a little mixed.

Active listings edged up to 1,064 homes, while homes going under contract slipped about 6% to 342. But here’s the encouraging part: 75 homes actually closed, up more than 10% from last week.

More homes are finishing the job.

Unfortunately, failed sales climbed too — up 18% to 58 homes, the highest number we’ve tracked.

So is the market working or not?

Both.

The homes that are properly priced, prepared, and marketed are still performing extremely well. Homes that sold this week closed for about 99% of asking price, one of the strongest readings we’ve seen all year.

But homes that miss the mark on price, condition, or presentation are having a much harder time getting across the finish line.

Same market. Very different outcomes.

And that matters because you’ve worked hard for the equity in your home. You don’t want it sitting quietly on the market losing momentum while the days tick by.

That’s exactly why Todd Porter (Utah Todd) and Tammy Swain built Fix & List and the Certified Turnkey Home program — to help homeowners move from the “stuck” pile into the “sold” pile with a real plan.

The strategy is simple:

Look at the home through a buyer’s eyes and identify what could hold it back.
Price it using current Davis County numbers — not guesswork or last year’s market.
Launch it with a strong marketing strategy designed to reach serious buyers quickly.

One local number worth watching: North Salt Lake has tightened for buyers three weeks in a row. That means fewer homes are sitting available compared with the number already under contract, giving sellers a little more leverage.

If you’re thinking about selling, especially in North Salt Lake, timing and preparation matter.

📱 Text 801-755-1882 for a no-pressure equity check.

If for any reason, property tax concerns, estate planning, wealth evaluation, you are wondering what the present value of your home; scan this QR code or go to https://sureut.com/epicreport and we will promptly provide you with our detailed professionally engineered EPIC Report:

https://sureut.com/epicreport

💬 Melissa from Syracuse asked:

"Everyone keeps telling me it's a buyer's market right now, so why does it feel like I have zero room to negotiate on the house I actually want?"

👉 Todd’s Answer:

Melissa, this is exactly why the phrase “buyer’s market” can be misleading.

Countywide, buyers have had a little more negotiating room. Last week, Davis County homes sold for about 96.6% of asking price on average.

But Syracuse wasn’t behaving exactly like the county as a whole.

There were fewer available homes sitting on the market compared with the number already under contract — which means buyers in Syracuse were competing in a tighter market.

And that’s the part the headlines miss.

It’s not really about whether Davis County is a buyer’s market or a seller’s market.

It’s about whether this house, in this neighborhood, at this price gives you leverage.

One home may have been sitting for weeks with a motivated seller. Another may be priced perfectly and already attracting multiple interested buyers.

Same city. Completely different negotiating position.

That’s why we do the homework before our buyers write an offer — so you know when to push, when to protect yourself, and when the house you really want simply doesn’t give you much room to play.