The fluctuating real estate market is something you can always count on to be unpredictable. When asking yourself, “when should I sell my home?” you obviously hope to choose the time that will benefit you the most, both financially and personally.
If you are ready to put your house on the market right now – should you go for it, or wait until 2023? Many real estate professionals agree that it’s best to consider a few factors when determining when to sell your home. As selling your home is a big deal, everyone should check all the factors sincerely. One of the most important factors is the rate. Still, you can easily check it as there is a nationwide appraisal management system in every country, where you can easily check all the formalities.
Personal Timing
While you certainly want to get the best financial deal possible when selling your home, it’s important to step back and look at the big picture. Timing is everything, and until you are fully prepared, you shouldn’t list it on the market.
Take a moment to consider your current situation. Is there an urgent need to be out of your home quickly? For example, did you or your partner accept a job in another state and you have to find a place there immediately? That can be a driving factor in when you put your current home up for sale.
Are your children in the middle of a school term, or are you traveling a lot for work? These are all things to consider before uprooting your entire family to rush your house to market unnecessarily. While some urgency is healthy, you don’t want to disrupt your own lives and living arrangements until you have a plan in place.
Personal Finances
While you may be ready emotionally and logistically to sell your home, your finances may tell a different story. Mortgage experts will stress that you should feel confident in your finances before selling your home.
Keeping in mind that house selling (and buying) creates a lot of emotion. Those feelings can cloud good financial judgment. You don’t want to commit to a high price tag just because you fall in love with a house or neighborhood. It’s critical that your credit is good and you have control of your debt so that you can avoid getting in over your head.
Seasonal Trends
The time of year that you buy or sell a house can have a big influence on the market. Inventory is plentiful in the spring and summer months when it’s more enjoyable to shop for a home in general. Warmer and more temperate weather make it easier to see the beauty of the properties.
These lovely months also mean you may spend more time in a bidding war, and more money in general. If you can hold off until fall, you can likely get a deal, but you may end up settling for something due to lack of choices. The holiday season and children’s school schedules can also make for a logistical mess when selling a home in the cooler months.
Mortgage Rates
Not only does the real estate market fluctuate, so do mortgage rates. These rates tend to model those of the Federal Reserve interest rate. This can be great when there are widespread economic struggles. During the COVID-19 pandemic, mortgage rates dropped because the Fed lowered their rate.
It is not enough to just consider the purchase price you set for your home, if a buyer is facing a high interest rate for their loan, they will likely pay less on the home itself. By monitoring the rates, it’s possible to get a great price for your home when mortgage rates favor the buyer.
When considering offers on your home, you may want to look at buyers who were pre-approved and have their finances in order, meaning less of a chance for an offer to fall through.
The bottom line is there really is no perfect time to sell your house (or to buy one for that matter). You should definitely follow the advice of experts and examine the trends.
It is also important to work with a real estate broker who can help you navigate these patterns and work with you to list and sell your home for the best price possible.
Fannie Mae predicts home sales to slow in 2023, due to the persistent inflation and rising interest rates that are hitting us in 2022. Our current year of 2022 is fading fast. If you planned on selling your house this year, there is still a good chance you will, but be prepared to be flexible.
Whether or not selling your home in 2022 is more likely than in 2023 remains to be seen. The thing that will never change about the housing market is people cannot physically move until they are ready, both personally and financially. When a home is available that fits a buyer’s needs, it will be purchased. The rest is simply an educated guess.
Read more:
