Homes in a neighborhood have been selling for $400K. Then, one seller -- for whatever reason -- accepts $380K. Maybe they needed to move fast. Maybe they were tired of waiting. Maybe they just really wanted to be done with it.

Now you want to buy in that neighborhood. You've seen that $380K sale. It's right there in the data. So you start making $380K offers on the other homes... and nothing is happening.

Why won't anyone take $380K when someone just sold for $380K?

Well... because a real estate transaction requires two willing parties. One seller agreeing to $380K doesn't obligate any other seller to do the same.

If you wanted to buy a home in that neighborhood for $380K, you may have needed to have bought it from that one seller -- the one who was willing to accept less. That window has now closed.

The other sellers in the neighborhood? They may have watched that sale happen and simply decided they aren't willing to follow suit. They're holding at $400K, and that's fine!

So continuing to offer $380K on homes listed at $400K -- homes owned by sellers who are clearly not in a hurry -- might not get you very far.

This doesn't mean you can never negotiate. It doesn't mean $400K is the floor forever. But one below-market sale doesn't necessarily reset the expectations of every other seller on the street. 

If you're trying to figure out what's actually reasonable to offer on a home here in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County -- and when to push and when to meet the market -- let's look broadly at the data, not just at one home sale.