Wellington’s real estate market has changed sharply since the post-COVID surge, but Jim Corbin, an associate at Illustrated Properties with nearly five decades in the business, says the slowdown is often misunderstood. Properties that once sold within days now linger for 30, 60, or even 120 days, but Corbin insists this does not signal a weak market. Instead, he believes the problem is that sellers are ignoring current market data and overpricing their homes.

“After COVID, you were lucky if you could keep a property on the market one or two days,” Corbin says. “But now they’re staying on the market if they’re overpriced, and they’re not priced according to market value. A lot of people still think the sky’s the limit and they can ask anything.”

The Overpricing Trap

Corbin explains that many Wellington sellers are holding on to expectations set during the explosive appreciation of 2022 and 2023, when prices nearly doubled. However, he says, that period was an outlier, and the market has since corrected.

“If you price it by the market sales and use the comparable sales, they still sell pretty quickly,” Corbin says. “The lower end sells faster, obviously, there’s more people available to do it, but we’ve had some multi-million dollar sales out here. The middle market is a little bit slower than the rest of it, probably anywhere in that million dollar to two or three million dollar range. Some of that is a little slower than it was before, but they eventually do sell.”

Corbin emphasizes that well-maintained, move-in-ready properties continue to attract buyers quickly, as long as the asking price reflects current comparable sales. “Things that are beautiful and clean and redone and move-in ready and nicely taken care of, they sell very, very quickly still in this market today,” he says.

This pattern shows that Wellington’s market is working as it should—rewarding realistic pricing and penalizing overvaluation, unlike the immediate post-pandemic years when high demand allowed nearly any asking price to succeed.

The Middle Market Squeeze

The $1 million to $3 million segment is where the slowdown is most pronounced. Corbin notes that sellers in this range have been the slowest to adjust their expectations and are most reluctant to accept lower, market-driven prices.

At the higher end, however, the market remains active. Corbin points to recent multi-million dollar sales of equestrian estates and luxury homes as evidence that affluent buyers are still willing to pay when they see value. The lower end of the market is also moving quickly, thanks to a larger pool of buyers.

“The asking prices are getting more realistic, and people are not overpricing,” Corbin observes. “Before, they just kept pricing up and up. Now, the market’s much flatter than it was. So you have to price it by the market sales.”

The Inventory Reality

This shift in pricing discipline coincides with a significant rise in Wellington’s inventory. In 2024, the number of homes for sale increased by 41 percent, creating more competition among sellers. Still, Corbin says that quality listings—homes that are updated, well-maintained, and move-in ready—remain in short supply.

“We still don’t have a tremendous amount of good inventory,” he says. “There’s some things on, but things that are beautiful and clean and redone and move-in ready and nicely taken care of, they sell very, very quickly still in this market today.”

The message is clear: as inventory grows, pricing based on recent comparable sales is essential. Sellers who refuse to adjust are simply choosing to wait longer, hoping buyers will eventually accept their price rather than meeting the market where it is.

The Broader Lesson

Corbin’s perspective is that Wellington’s real estate market has not fundamentally weakened. Instead, it has returned to a more typical environment where pricing discipline matters. The post-COVID boom, when homes sold regardless of price, was the exception. Now, overpriced properties sit while well-priced homes sell, reflecting a return to normal market fundamentals.

For sellers still hoping for peak-pandemic prices, Corbin’s advice is direct: the market will not adjust to your expectations. Price your home according to recent sales data, or be prepared for an extended time on the market.