Hot markets protect bad agents. This one doesn’t.

During the boom years, many properties sold despite poor strategy. Buyers were abundant, competition was fierce and the market often did much of the heavy lifting.

Today, the margin for error is much smaller.

Buyers are inspecting more properties, negotiating harder and taking longer to make decisions. They have more choice, more information and less urgency.

That means mistakes that once were overlooked, are now becoming very visible.

Overpricing. Poor presentation. Weak photos. Unrealistic expectations.

In most cases, the people avoiding these mistakes are still transacting quickly and fairly.

We are consistently seeing comparable properties go down two distinct paths:

Either they get it right early with offers in the first 2 inspections, or they sit for months rotating between agents offering the lowest commission – and with it, the lowest level of strategy and service.

The harsh reality is, the difference is often less about the property itself and more about how it has been positioned.

The market is still rewarding good decisions. It’s simply become better at punishing bad ones.