Is It The Best Time To Sell Your Home?

If you’re wondering whether to sell your home, and when, it’s time to pack a lot of conventional wisdom.

According to housing analysts, the positive news for home sellers is the US as a whole has seen a sizzling real estate market over the last several years. From the third quarter of 1999 to the third quarter of 2004, home prices in the US have increased by more than 48 percent, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

However, the bad news is that things are a little more complicated than just “buy low, sell high.” And while traditionally spring is considered the best time of year to market a piece of property, that may not be true in some locations, as the old cycles have been thrown off by a slumping housing market, and it’s enough to make a home owner’s blood pressure levels rise.

Find Out First If You Have Another Place To Go Before Selling

According to some property experts, now’s a good time to sell your home, that is “if you have another place to go.” It may be tempting to cash out of a home and realize the gains of the past several years.

However, it would be a risky move unless you are downsizing your residence or moving from a very expensive market, such as New York City, to a less pricey one, such as Cleveland. Otherwise, you will end up spending just as much, if not more, on a new home.

For instance, in Manhattan or Las Vegas, real estate prices can increase in a wink of an eye. When it comes to annual home sales cycles, the slowest months of the year are typically January and February, since fewer deals are made over the holidays, some analysts explain. A peak in June generally reflects the fact that many people want to move in between school years. However, those patterns have eased, and some say those trends are at an end.

Housing Factors Differ In Each Region

Some housing observers have noted that baby boomers, who are still in their prime years, are buying second and even third homes. Their kids are buying earlier in life, and single women are making up a larger percentage of homebuyers. According to the experts, when you put all of those demographics together, and real estate is going to stay hot for a long time, the good old days are now.

However, different parts of the country, even different parts of the same city, have periods when sellers can be most aggressive with their pricing. Some real estate brokers see home selling patterns differ on a regional level. They noted that when you have a year-round climate like Florida, the experience has been that there’s not dramatically one better season to put a property on the market.

Housing experts also note that a seasonal home in Northern Michigan, for example, will sell more slowly in the fall and winter, as people aren’t as anxious to search for a home in Northern Michigan when there’s three feet of snow on the ground, and conditions are really chilly.

Is It The Best Time To Sell Your Home?