Why Some Ridgeville Homes Are Sitting and Others Are Selling in a Week

I drove past a Ridgeville listing yesterday that's been on the market 67 days. Three streets over, a similar-sized house sold in 8 days last week, with two offers. Same town. Same time of year. Wildly different outcomes.

If you're touring out here right now, you're seeing the same pattern. Some houses you walk into and there's already an offer on the table. Others have been waiting for you for two months. Here's what's actually going on.

The honest answer: pricing, almost every time

When a home sits, the most common reason is that the seller priced it for the 2023 market. That market is over. The buyer who would have paid that number two years ago is not in this market today. The result is a listing that gets fewer showings each week and a "Price Reduced" sticker a month later.

When a home sells fast, it almost always means it was priced honestly from day one. The seller looked at the last 60 days of comparable sales (not the asking prices of nearby listings, but the actual closed prices), set the price at the realistic high end of that range, and the buyers showed up.

Other reasons homes sit

Pricing is the big one, but there are a few others worth knowing if you're touring:

• Listing photos don't show the property well. A listing with five dark indoor photos and no exterior shots will scare off scrollers before anyone schedules a tour. If you find one of these in person and it's actually nice, that's leverage.
• The home needs visible work and the seller hasn't done it. A peeling deck, an old roof, dated kitchen. Buyers do mental math and add the cost of the project to the asking price, and if the total exceeds what a turnkey home next door is selling for, they walk.
• The location has a quirk. A long shared driveway, a power line in the back, road noise. These don't kill a sale but they slow it down, and the seller's price needs to account for it.
• Inspection issues from a prior failed contract. Sometimes a home sits because the first buyer found something during inspection, the seller refused to address it, and now every new buyer's agent knows. Ask your agent to check the history.

What this means for you as a buyer

Three things.

One, don't fall in love with the asking price. What I tell every client: get attached to comparable sales, not list prices. If a home has been sitting at $440K for 60 days and comps say it's worth $395K, that's the conversation we'll have with the seller.

Two, sitting homes can be your best deal. A seller who has watched their home not sell for two months is usually ready to negotiate. Inventory that has been sitting often closes at 92% to 95% of the original asking price, sometimes lower.

Three, the fast-selling homes are fast for a reason. When you find one priced right and well-presented, move quickly. The same buyers who hesitated on the sitting houses will jump on the well-priced ones, and you'll be competing.

How I help with this

Before I take you out to tour, I'll pull comps for every home on your list. Not just the asking price, but the actual closed sales in the last 60 days, the days on market for each, and any price history on the property you're looking at.

That way when we walk into a house, you already know whether it's priced honestly or wishfully. Saves time. Saves emotion. Saves money.

When you're ready, I'm here.

If you're touring Ridgeville and you're trying to figure out the price-versus-value question on a specific home, send me the address. I'll send you the comps before you tour.

Call or text 843.288.1157, or visit justcalljess.co.

Jessica Cherie Blommaert, REALTOR® · eXp Realty · SC License #146007 · Equal Housing Opportunity