Sellers often ask me should I sell my house now or wait? Naturally, many sellers want to get in on the best time in order to maximize their exposure and net gain from the sale of their house. Honestly, in our current market, and especially here in Florida, there isn’t much of a bad time of year to list your home. However, there are better seasons of the year in order to gain more attention, increased showings along with quicker and often higher offers. Those seasons tend to be spring and early summer. But a potential seller should not count out the rest of the year as many sellers have done quite well in the dead of winter on the sale of their home. In fact, many real estate agents would argue that the best time to sell is in the winter because of the more serious nature of the buyers out looking during that time of year.
Realtor.com recently released an analysis of the 50 largest real estate markets in the nation over the last three years to determine the best week to sell. Their findings showed that the week of March 31st to April 6th is the best week of the year to sell. During that week, homes are listed, on average, for 6 percent more than at the beginning of the year – an extra $17,000, according to the study. During that same week, homes for sale also gained 14 percent more views on realtor.com® than at other times of the year. The study also showed that homes listed for sale during this period sold six days faster and had less competition during that week. The highest number of homes for sale tend to go up for sale during late spring, according to the study.
It is important to note that homes sold in April don’t tend to get the highest prices. Home prices tend to peak around June, according to the Realtor.com® study. However, sellers face less competition and homes sell more quickly during the first week of April, the study concludes.
“Sellers have to think about the competition in a way they haven’t before,” says Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “Getting ahead of other potential sellers could be even more of a bigger advantage this year given market conditions.”
Another factor to consider is interest rates. Buyers these days are smart shoppers and may be enticed by the currently lower mortgage interest rates. Many buyers would rather jump in the market sooner than wait. Mortgage interest rates have already started going up and are expected to continue going up through the end of the year and that affects the buying power of the buyer. In other words, what the buyer can afford in a purchase price today because the rates are low is not the same as what the buyer can afford when the rates go up. Many buyers are keenly aware of this and sellers should be too. Not only can that affect the sale of their home but sellers are usually becoming buyers right after they get a contract on their home.
If you would like to discuss selling or buying a home of your own, please give me (Lisa Alford) a call at 704-408-2834. I’d be glad to assist you and help you set up a plan that works best for your situation.
** excerpts of this article were taken from The Best Week to List a Home is Quickly Approaching” Realtor.com Magazine Daily News (March 28, 2109) which sourced: “The Best Week of the Year to Put Your House on the Market Is …” realtor.com® (March 14, 2019)
