Thinking About Waiting Until Spring to Sell Your Home? You May Want to Think Again

In normal years, the winter can be a tough time to sell your home; there are often fewer buyers, which can make it challenging to sell your home quickly and profitably—which often drives sellers to wait until spring to list their home.

But 2021 is anything but a normal year—and if you’re thinking about waiting until the spring to sell your home, you may want to think again.

A recent article from realtor.com outlined the key reasons why homeowners should sell their home this winter (as opposed to waiting for spring), including:

• There aren’t a lot of homes for sale—and the ones that are for sale are selling fast. Markets across the US are struggling with low inventory. There simply aren’t enough homes on the market to satisfy buyers—and that means the homes that are available are selling quickly. According to realtor.com’s data, in October, homes in the US spent, on average, 45 days on the market—eight days fewer than October 2020. Homes are selling even faster in more competitive areas of the country.
• Home prices are at an all-time high. As a homeowner, you want to sell your home for the highest price possible—and that time is now. Home prices are currently at an all-time high, with the median home price in the US hovering around $380,000—a 9 percent increase from 2020.
• Interest rates are increasing. Mortgage interest rates have been at historic lows for nearly two years, driving huge numbers of new buyers into the market. But those numbers are starting to increase, with the Mortgage Bankers Association projecting 4 percent interest rates by the end of 2022. This increase in interest rates could decrease buyer’s spending power—and make it harder to fetch top dollar for your home.

The Takeaway:

Bottom line? The market is incredibly favorable to sellers this winter—so if you’ve been thinking about pushing your home sale until the spring, you may want to reconsider.