Here are five reasons listing your home for sale this summer makes sense.
1. Demand Is Strong
The latestBuyer Traffic Report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR)shows that buyer demand remains very strong throughout the vast majority of the country. These buyers are ready, willing and able to purchase… and are in the market right now! More often than not, multiple buyers are competing with each other to buy a home.
Take advantage of the buyer activity currently in the market.
2. There Is Less Competition Now
Housinginventoryis currently at a4.2-month supply, well under the 6-months needed for a normal housing market. This means, in the majority of the country, there are not enough homes for sale to satisfy the number of buyers in that market. This is good news for home prices. However, additional inventory could be coming to the market soon.
There is a pent-up desire for many homeowners to move, as they were unable to sell over the last few years because of a negative equity situation. Homeowners are now seeing a return to positive equity as real estate values have increased over the last two years. Many of these homes will be coming to the market this summer.
Also,builder’s confidencein the market has hit its highest mark in over 11 years. Experts are predicting that new construction of single-family homes will ramp up this summer.
The choices buyers have will continue to increase. Don’t wait until all this other inventory of homes comes to market before you sell.
3. The Process Will Be Quicker
Fannie Maeanticipates an acceleration in home sales that will surpass 2007’s pace. As the market continues to strengthen, banks will be inundated with loan inquiries causing closing-time lines to lengthen. Selling now will make the process quicker & simpler. According toEllie Mae’slatestOrigination InsightsReport, the time to close a loan has dropped to a new low of 42 days, after seeing a 12-month high of 48 days in January.
4. There Will Never Be a Better Time to Move Up
If you are moving up to a larger, more expensive home, consider doing itnow. Prices are projected to appreciate by 4.9% over the next year, according toCoreLogic. If you are moving to a higher-priced home, it will wind up costing you more in raw dollars(both in down payment and mortgage payment)if you wait.
You can also lock in your 30-year housing expense with aninterest ratearound 4%right now. Rates are projected to increase in the next 12 months.
5. It’s Time to Move on with Your Life
Look at the reason you decided to sell in the first place and determine whether it is worth waiting. Is money more important than being with family? Is money more important than your health? Is money more important than having the freedom to go on with your life the way you think you should?
Only you know the answers to the questions above. You have the power to take control of the situation by putting your home on the market. Perhaps the time has come for you and your family to move on and start living the life you desire.
That is what is truly important.
If you’ve entered the real estate market, as a buyer or a seller, you’ve inevitably heard the real estate mantra,“location, location, location”in reference to how identical homes can increase or decrease in value due to where they’re located. Well, a new survey shows that when it comes to choosing a real estate agent, the millennial generation’s mantra is,“local, local, local.”
CentSai, a financial wellness online community, recentlysurveyedover 2,000 millennials (ages 18-34) and found that75% of respondents would use a local real estate agentover an online agent, and 71% would choose a local lender.
Survey respondents cited many reasons for their choice to go local, “including personal touch & handholding, longstanding relationships, local knowledge, and amount of hassle.”
Doria Lavagnino,Cofounder & PresidentofCentSaihad this to say:
“We were surprised to learn that online providers are not yet as big a disruptor in this sector as we first thought, despite purported cost savings. We found that millennials place a high value on the personal touch and knowledge of a local agent. Buying a home for the first time is daunting, and working with a local agent—particularly an agent referred by a parent or friend—could provide peace of mind.”
The findings of theCentSaisurvey are consistent with theConsumer Housing Trends Study,which found that millennials prefer a more hands-on approach to their real estate experience:
“While older generations rely on real estate agents for information and expertise, Millennials expect real estate agents to become trusted advisers and strategic partners.”
When it comes to choosing an agent, millennials and other generations share their top priority:the sense that an agent is trustworthy and responsive to their needs.
That said, technology still plays a huge role in the real estate process.Accordingto theNational Association of Realtors, 95% of home buyers look for prospective homes and neighborhoods online, and 91% also said they would use an online site or mobile app to research homes they might consider purchasing.
Bottom Line
Many wondered if this tech-savvy generation would prefer to work with an online agent or lender, but more and more studies show that when it comes to real estate, millennials want someone they can trust, someone who knows the neighborhood they want to move into, leading them through the entire experience.