It’s right around the corner. As mercurial as the current housing market is, many homeowners are itching to get into the spring market. I understand why spring represents this magical time to so many real estate consumers. It’s the best time to sell a home.
If you’ve followed the news lately you know that interest rates have risen and will rise again throughout the year. These hikes and potential hikes have created a new sense of urgency among homebuyers. If you’ll be buying another home after selling your current home, you, too, should be feeling some urgency. After all, you’ll be a buyer when your house sells.
Of course, we have no way of knowing when the next interest rate increase will come, which is why I’m urging my clients who hope to sell in spring to get the home on the market as early in spring as possible to avoid any unpleasant surprises.
What you’ll need to do
Let’s get a market analysis done now. Yes, it’s a bit early, but we just need a ballpark figure for you to take to a lender. He or she can then present options for buying the next home.
The worst thing you can do is sell your home before being pre-approved for a loan for your next home so speak with the lender about what you need to do, financially, to ensure mortgage approval.
Spring officially arrives on March 20, 2023, and lasts until June 21. Starting your preparations to sell right now gives you plenty of time to get the home ready for the market. Sure, there’s not much you can do to the exterior with the ever-changing weather we’re having, but if you have repairs to be made inside, spend some time during the weekends to get those knocked out.
Then we’ll come up with a staging plan if needed. Not all homes require staging but if yours does, let’s get together and discuss how you can show off your home to its fullest advantage.
Again, don’t wait
“When interest rates are moving up, waiting to sell could end up costing more than selling sooner and locking in today’s rates. Waiting to sell could also mean having to wait to buy when there are even fewer homes available,” warns Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com.
He goes on to suggest that the market is in flux. “As rates continue to rise, higher financing costs will eventually dampen demand.”
If you don’t want your house numbered among a glut of them when demand dries up, get it on the market before rates rise again. Spring, and even summer, is the perfect time to sell.
