THE BRIDGEWATER-SOMERVILLE CONNECTION PAGE 48 JUNE/JULY/AUGUST 2026 theconnectionsnj.com winter in particular, which was slow, weather-impacted, and not especially active. That matters. If buyer activity was muted when those homes were sold, then the prices they achieved may not reflect today’s demand. Pricing a home based strictly on those numbers is like driving while looking in the rear view mirror. It tells you where the market ne of the most common questions I get from sellers is, “What’s my home worth?” The standard approach and the one most people expect is to look at recent sales. We review properties that are similar in size, style, and location, and use those as a guide. That’s what’s commonly referred to as a comparative market analysis, or CMA. There’s value in that. It provides a baseline. It gives us a starting point. But in today’s market, relying too heavily on past sales can lead to missed opportunities. Here’s why. Most of the comparable sales we’re looking at today closed within the last one to three months. That means those homes likely went under contract three to six months ago. In many cases, that puts them squarely in the middle of the winter market-this past was, not necessarily where it is. What matters more right now is understanding current supply and demand. How many homes are available in your price range? How quickly are they going under contract? How much competition will a buyer see if they walk into your home this weekend? That’s where concepts like absorption ratethe speed at which homes sell in a market over a specific period-and inventory levels come into play. If there’s limited supply and strong demand, buyers are more likely to act quickly-and often more aggressively. If inventory is building or homes are sitting, the strategy changes. This is why I focus less on only what sold and more on what’s happening right now. When pricing a home, I look at the current competition and ask a simple question: “If a buyer is looking in this town and this price range today, how does this home stack up against their other options?” That’s the real comparison. The goal isn’t just to land in a range supported by past sales. The goal is to position the home in a way that attracts attention, generates activity, and ultimately creates the strongest possible outcome. Pricing is not just about value-it’s about strategy. The most successful sales don’t happen because a home was priced “accurately” based on old data. They happen because the home was positioned correctly within the current market. That may mean pricing slightly below where the numbers suggest creating competition. It may mean aligning tightly with current inventory to avoid sitting on the market. Every situation is different. The CMA still matters. It’s the foundation. But the decision is made by looking at what’s happening now-not just what happened a few months ago. In a market like this, small differences in approach can lead to big differences in results. Contact Ed Nugent at Red Door Real Estate, the local expert you can trust! Email Ed: goreddoor@gmail.com or call him at 732-893-8339. Visit his website for more information: www.goreddoor.com. O What Your Home Is Really Worth-Right Now By Edward P. Nugent III, Broker/Owner, Red Door Real Estate INSIDEREAL ESTATE Pricing a home based strictly on those numbers is like driving while looking in the rear view mirror. It tells you where the market was, not necessarily where it is.
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