The answer is: It depend on where the property is located and the price point the property falls under. In most places in Georgia, where I practice real estate, it is indeed a Seller's Market, defined as a market in which a seller can and will sell their home in a reasonable amount of time for near to if not at asking price and in many cases greater than asking price. This is caused, normally, when a market has a greater number of buyers than sellers have properties to sell.
Therefore, the demand is elevated and the existing properties for sell increase in value and decrease in time on market. Put simply: the seller can get more for their property and do it quickly. However, this also can and does lead to properties being over priced. When that happens buyers will begin to observe properties on the market for longer periods of time. Also, no matter what a property is listed for or put under contract for, in most cases, they still need to get an appraisal to purchase the property. Appraisers act as the balancing scales for real estate purchases. If the property is over priced then they will, in most cases, only give an appraisal for an amount closer to the actual fair market value.
At the beginning of this article I mentioned that a Seller's Market is still based on location and price point. What do I mean by this? What I mean is that if you are located in an area where there are more properties to sell than buyer to purchase then no, the area you are in is not a Seller's Market, but at the time this article is being written it is mostly a Seller's Market throughout the Continental United States: Georgia is most definitely a Seller's Market. However there is also another way that a property can be out from under the Seller's Market Column: If that property is over priced for the area then no matter the market environment, that property will most likely sit until it's priced according to the local market demands. Example: If you have a market where properties between 150,000 and 180,000 sell like hotcakes and properties between 200,000 and 220,000 have an over abundance of availability and take twice as long as the less expensive cousins, to sell, then that property will most likely sit for a longer period of time and could possibly not sell at all in a reasonable time frame. A reasonable time frame is subjective but in most cases anywhere from 30 to 120 days is considered reasonable in a Seller's Market. In a buyers market that time can be extended up to 180 days.
So, location and price can effect whether a property benefits from a seller's market. But, in most cases, this is a Seller's Market and projections have it remaining one for the next 5+ years. However, only time will tell.
Adrian Ashmore (Realtor)