The Delicate Balance Between Home Buyers and Home Sellers

Blog, Buying, Real Estate Tips, Selling
Here is some advice I have been consulting clients with since the end of 2nd quarter: Year end is the best time sell, and 2013 year end maybe the best window of opportunity for some time to come. With serious buyers in the market, home sellers need to seize the opportunities. Here are 5 reasons:

1. THERE IS FAR LESS COMPETITION:  Supplies are seasonally low. Sellers who wait for the spring are guaranteed to have far greater competition. Consider if you have the best house in the neighborhood, it may not matter when you put your house on the market. For the 99.9% rest of us, sellers must consider buyers have many more choices in the Spring.

2. SERIOUS BUYERS ARE IN THE MARKET.  Fall and Winter are not typically inviting times to visit homes as a Sunday past time. As good as Spring and Summer are with shear numbers of buyers, winter (year-end) offers a greater percentage of ready to purchase buyers. Sellers now is the time get your home ready to meet action takers.

3. THERE WILL NEVER BE A BETTER TIME. In most markets, home values have spiked. Through the first half of 2013, prices have recovered, the declines suffered since 2007. Additionally, interest rates have remained at historical lows and all indications are there is only one way to go from here… up.

4. FINANCING WILL BE QUICKER. There is money to lend and the industry is “healthy” and competitive. Lenders have embraced technology and have streamlined the process. Most qualified lending institutions can get a loan approved within 21 days. Spring and Summer and especially the first half of 2013, lenders were inundated with both purchase and refinancing loan requests. Both of these have now slowed in the winter facilitating the shorter timelines.

5. IT’S TIME TO MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIFE. Examine the reasons you are considering selling and decide whether it is worth waiting. You have the power to take back control of the selling process. Competitive financing and year-end closings are potent buyer triggers.