I’m A Real Estate Agent. Am I A Sleaze?
If I’m not writing, I’m selling real estate. Sometimes, when I reveal this to my artsy writer friends, I get a look of surprise or
Now May Be the Perfect Time to Sell Your House If You Aren’t Planning on Buying Another Home
You’ve probably been hearing in the news lately that the real estate market is “shifting.” Well, according to this realtor.com article, many economists feel that we’ve moved from shifting into a “balanced” market. In other words, it’s not really a sellers’ market or a buyers’ market.
That may have you thinking that it’s not as favorable for sellers as it has been, and you missed out on the opportunity to get a historically high price for your house. Oddly, that isn’t the case at all.
Despite what headlines and economists may say, all signs point to it being an absolutely perfect time to sell—especially if you don’t plan on buying another home. Consider the following data in that realtor.com article:
- Median listing prices are up 14.4% year-over-year
- New listings are down 12%
- Houses are taking 4 days longer to sell than they had been
Of those three things, the only thing slightly better for buyers is that it’s taking listings longer to sell…by four days.
While prices may be stabilizing and leveling off, the fact is, prices are still a good deal higher than they were just a year ago. One of the biggest reasons why the market was so favorable for sellers over the past few years was because there weren’t enough listings, and now there’s even 12% less competition.
That said, the market is shifting and it’s hard to say how much more of a window sellers have to capitalize on high prices and low competition. But, at least for now, there’s still an opportunity for you to sell and reap the benefits of the sellers’ market we’ve seen over the past couple of years.
The Takeaway:
The real estate market is now “balanced,” which might sound like it’s good for both buyers and sellers alike. But the reality is, it’s still more in favor of sellers, and even more so for sellers who aren’t planning on buying another home.
If you’re thinking about selling your house and either renting, moving in with family, into a retirement community, or a second home you already own, now is a good time to capitalize on the market conditions. Prices are still historically high, you’ve likely accrued quite a bit of equity in the past few years, and there are even less listings to compete with than there have been.
So, if you’ve been hesitating because the news made it sound like you missed out on the sellers’ market, you still have a window of opportunity. But it’s hard to say how long that will last.
