If you’ve been paying attention to your local real estate market in any way, you are most likely aware that home equity has been on a steady incline and most sellers have been either taking advantage of it or waiting for that equity to top out. So why is now the right time for you to sell your home?
According to the National Association of Realtors®, approximately 80% of Americans believe now is a good time to sell, up from 55% in 2016. This is attributed to the fact that buyers are now starting to slow down and home prices are showing a deceleration, increasing at a slower rate, and mortgage rates are continuing a slow and steady rise.
There is also a shortage of listing on the market, homes that are available to buyers, under $250,000, and particularly under $200,000. This does not mean that if your home valuation is more than $250k, that it’s not also a great time to sell as well. There is simply a shortage across the board, both with resale and new construction meeting the needs of buyers, especially in price points under $250k. New construction builders, in particular, have been amping up their new home communities and are still trying to catch up from the drop in numbers seen since the matter in 2008.
Job creation and growth is also on the rise which is assisting in creating some secondary income to some households, increasing buyer resources, confidence and assists with the mortgage rates. Lawrence Yun, chief NAR economist, predicts a “moderate” increase to 5.5% towards the end of 2019.
Real estate trends in previous years usually start on the west coast and work their way eastward. What we have seen on the west coast supports this data of slowdown and evening of both buyer turnout and home equity increases. Overall August sales are down nationally, which is the fourth decline in the past five months, and we see the biggest decline out west. Again, Lawrence Yun states that this is due to, “where prices have greatly shot up, so clearly indicating that affordability is hindering buyers, but that affordability issue is coming due to the lack of inventory“.
All of this to say, now is the time to sell your home! If you’ve been thinking about it at all, don’t waste anymore time. Talk to a Realtor® you can trust, who will make it an easy transition, keep you and your needs top of mind and have a bit of fun during the process!
