Evaluating Whether It’s the Right Time to Sell Your Home

When to Sell a Home

You should consider selling your house now if the circumstances offer you favorable selling conditions. Below are the scenarios that should compel you to sell one. 

If Mortgage Interest Rates Are Low

Sellers have historically had the most success when interest rates are low and more bidders are on the market. As a result, today’s higher interest rates will almost certainly influence your decision to sell your home now or wait. According to a recent market survey, the average mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan in May 2023 was 6.39%. While recent rate increases may appear large, the current rate is below the long-term average of 7.74%. 

If Your Home’s Value Has Increased

According to current data from Zillow, median home prices in the U.S. have increased by 37%. For homeowners, that means if you bought a house for $250,000 eight years ago, it now could be worth over $340,000. Home appreciation is the mythical savings you can’t touch, but hope is still there when you sell. The selling date, of course, isn’t known. 

Homeowners see their neighbors sell for high prices and assume their homes have appreciated similarly. Assumed value increases convince you not to sell and to allow value to keep growing.(1) Therefore, if you’ve been in your current house for a long time or if property values in your neighborhood have risen to the point where you’ve built up a sizable amount of equity, you should sell now and cash out. You can even choose to reinvest the money.

If You Need to Relocate

Selling your home may be inescapable if a change is knocking at your front door. You may need to relocate due to a job transfer, a family medical emergency, or a divorce. In this instance, your best option may be to sell my house fast Tacoma, Washington. This way, you will have enough money to relocate or handle your emergency medical situation.

If There is a Scarcity of Housing

Selling your house might be more profitable when supply is limited, and demand is high. The total inventory of for-sale properties in the United States remains low. Go ahead and investigate the number of properties that look like yours are being sold in your area. You can then assess the rate at which these houses are being sold. 

If many buyers are looking for a house like yours and minimal alternatives are available, you should sell my house fast in Tacoma now.

If You Want to Downsize

Downsizing is a great way to increase your cash flow. This is because if you’re spending less money on your mortgage, you will have extra money every month to allocate to your other needs. Additionally, downsizing can lower your utility bills and minimize the time you spend on upkeep. If maintaining your home has become complex or expensive, you can downsize to a smaller apartment. 

This means selling your house now to a we buy houses Tacoma company is the best way to get rid of your current property and acquire a new one.

When to Wait to Sell Your Home? 

If Mortgage Interest Rates Are Increasing

When mortgage rates rise, home values and offer prices fall. That doesn’t necessarily imply it’s a poor time to sell; it just means you should carefully analyze your selling goals and whether you would benefit from waiting. If you sell now, you may only receive low offers because house values are also low at this point.

If Your Move is Not Critical

If you want to sell your current home and upsize, selling now may not be a good idea. People want to buy a bigger house to cater to their growing families or for other reasons. If you don’t need to move to your new house urgently, you can wait to sell when the housing market favors you. Additionally, the cost of buying a big house now may be too much of a financial burden. 

This is especially if other factors will add extra costs, such as higher interest rates or low equity. Waiting to sell your home later will be the best option in this scenario.

If You Haven’t Accumulated Much Equity

You don’t want to relocate while your home is regarded as “upside down,” i.e., you owe more than the property is worth. This is similar to examining your home equity when considering trading up. For example, if your home is worth $300,000, but you owe $320,000, you may want to hold off on selling or renting it out until you’ve built up some equity. Because most of your monthly mortgage payment is initially applied to interest, it normally takes four to five years for your property to accumulate enough equity to be worth selling. 



Furthermore, you must ensure that your sales revenues will pay all your selling fees, which amount to approximately 9% to 10% of the selling price.

If the Housing Inventory Is Increasing

Selling your house may not be as profitable as you would want when supply is high, and demand is low. Keep an eye on what’s going on in your real estate market. High housing inventory may not be an immediate worry in many parts of the country. If there are too many houses for sale in your area, you should consider waiting until the inventory goes down. 

This way, there will be more buyers interested in buying your property.

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