Timing Your Sale

Homeowners ask me all the time, “When is the ideal time to sell?” In my opinion, there are opportunities for buyers and sellers in every market and every season. Timing a sale, unless you are an investor, should really be focused on where you will live your best life. If you need another bedroom because your family is growing, your family’s comfort is more important than the gain you might make on a home sale because you will probably gain on the next purchase anyway.

But if you are trying to time the market for a sale, here are some things to keep in mind:

·       Buyers, Sellers, and Balanced Markets – A sellers’ market has more buyers than there is inventory of homes; a buyers’ market has more homes than buyers; a balanced market is one in which the two are about equal. However, within neighborhoods and different price points, different types of supply and demand can be measured. Just because the media is reporting an area is a sellers’ market doesn’t mean that all home will sell quickly. It is important to investigate what is happening in your inventory niche.

·       Time of Year – This is tricky because there are two factors at work – the size of the potential buyer pool and the number of homes going on the market that are trying to take advantage of that buyer pool. For example, in our market, more homes go on the market in the spring when the buyers are out. However, as more homes come on, that leads to a bulge of inventory as the summer wanes and the buyers head out of town on vacation.

·       An Area’s Economic Health – Do you expect our area will attract more business or less business in the coming years? Take a look at our area’s major employers and the industries our local area is known for, think about the advances that are coming, and ask yourself if those changes will make our area stronger (with more demand for housing) or weaker (with fewer workers, there may be less demand).

·       Predicting Future Demand – Are changes coming to specific pockets in the area that may cause demand to rise or fall? For example, transportation hubs generally cause more people to want to live nearby to take advantage of easy access. Large employers, new schools, parks and more may attract buyers who want to live nearby. Take a look at future planned development to get a sense of what is coming.

·       Real Estate Cycles – This is a tough one since no one has a crystal ball. However, there are up cycles and down cycles in real estate. Think about your future plans – the next 5, 10, and 15 years. What changes do you see for yourself and where do you want to be? If your goal is to stay about where you are or upsize, then a real estate downcycle may not affect you too much. But if your goal is to downsize or move out of the area, then you should pay attention to the inventory clues.

So should you sell now? It depends! It really depends on your unique situation, your area, price point, and your future plans. If you are mulling over your next step, let’s talk.