Dear Olivia,
I heard your Real Estate Reality Radio show this month, and I was very interested in the State of the Market Update? Can you tell more about what it means when it is a Sellers market? We are thinking about Selling our home , however we would then also be buying, so we are not sure if that is bad or good in our situation?
That is a great question! There are lots more pieces that we would want to evaluate if you wanted a full evaluation of whether or not this was good or bad for you. Some of the questions I might further ask you would be…. Do you know what price range you will be selling in? Do you know what price range you will be shopping in? What is your goal, as your Realtor, what are we trying to accomplish for you? Are you searching for more space? Different Features? Different payment? Less Space? After answering some of these questions we could definitely better guide you for your personal question.
As a general answer, it is not all that bad that it is what would statistically be a Sellers market in our area at this time, because there are so many more factors in play other than just statistics. However, statistics is where you must begin to build your data and gather your information. So, as I mentioned in Real Estate Reality, we have less than a 3 months supply of inventory on the market, according to the data from our MLS system. This means that if as many houses that have sold each month, year to date, continue to sell each month and no more new listings came on the market then we would actually run out of houses for sale in less than 3 months. We all know that is not what is going to happen, houses will come on the market, but others will continue to sell. If they continue at a balanced rate, then Sellers will likely have the upper hand in negotiations, as Buyers will have few houses to choose from.
Then you add in more reality to the numbers. This data is based on all price ranges. Most Buyers can’t shop in all price ranges. So, you could narrow down the stats if you wanted to and see that there are some price ranges that are more “HOT” than others. Some price ranges I would all “Slow and Steady”. They are moving at a reasonable rate, but not super fast.
That being said. IF your home you need to sell is in the “HOT” range, and you are buying in “Slow and Steady” this could definitely be a benefit to you as you make your move. If you are moving from “Slow and Steady” to “HOT” it could be more challenging to get as good of a deal. But, that doesn’t’ mean its a bad move, since there are so many other factors to consider.
A well rounded decision would include, timing options, current situation, interest rates of your current mortgage as well as what your new one will be or if you are buying with cash, not to mention is your home ready to sell and are your finances in order! Your Realtor should be able to help you create your scenario based on your goals and guide you through your situation!
If you need help comparing and getting questions answered further feel free to shoot me an Email and I would love to help you to evaluate the market and your situation anytime! To hear this month’s Real Estate Reality, click the SoundCloud link below.
Olivia