Looking to Sell Your Home? You May Want to Get Moving ASAP

Waiting could mean losing out financially.

Sellers have had the upper hand in the housing market for a long time now. In mid-2020, mortgage rates fell to record lows, which drove buyer demand upward at a time when most sellers weren't moving forward with listings. (After all, who wanted to deal with selling a home in the midst of a pandemic?)

In 2021, mortgage rates stayed low, and real estate inventory didn't pick up. That allowed sellers to retain their edge. 

And in 2022, mortgage rates rose sharply. But because housing supply didn't follow suit, sellers still maintained an advantage over buyers.

But the days of sellers being in control of the housing market may soon be coming to an end. If you've been thinking about selling your home, you may want to put your listing together sooner rather than later. 

Don't wait to sell your home

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that in November, existing home sales declined for the 10th month in a row. In fact, home sales slipped 7.7% from October and were down 35.4% compared to the same month one year prior.

Does that mean the housing market is crashing? No. But does it mean buyer demand may be waning? Yes. And it's easy to see why.

Right now, both mortgage rates and home prices are elevated. That's putting many buyers in a position where they just can't afford to sign for a mortgage loan. And so it's not all that surprising to see home sales decline. 

That said, there's still a reasonable amount of buyer demand out there. And if you want to capitalize on it, you should aim to list your home as soon as possible. 

This is an especially wise move to make given that economists have been sounding recession warnings for the past several months. If economic conditions worsen in 2023, it's apt to push even more buyers out of the market. And that could mean having to settle for a lower sale price for your home than you want. 

List while inventory is low

As of the end of November, there was only a 3.3-month supply of available homes for sale, reports the NAR. But it generally takes a 4- to 6-month supply of homes to create enough supply to meet demand. 

If home listings pick up in 2023, you'll have more competition to deal with. And that could mean winding up with a lower sale price for your home. As such, you're better off getting ahead of that situation by listing your home in the near term.

Selling a home during the winter can bring forth some challenges. You can't easily show off a home's curb appeal, and inclement weather might force you to reschedule showings and open houses. 

But despite those drawbacks, listing your home soon could really work to your benefit. So the sooner you find a real estate agent to team up with and get moving on your listing, the more money you might end up walking away with.