Time to Sell

Although many buyers are waiting on the sidelines to see what will happen to home prices, others are acknowledging the fact that when the market is slow it is the best time to buy. The object of the game is to make sure you don't wait too long. It is a cycle really, is it not? The downward motion of that cycle seems to be somewhat of a self fulfilling prophecy. The media talks about prices falling, people get scared to buy so they wait, and because nobody is buying prices are actually affected negatively.

I am starting to hear about recovery in certain spots around the nation; people are finally seeing that the sky is not falling and there has been talk of 4 to 7 percent appreciation in the next year. Finally there has been a positive spin on news stories; it seems the media just had to get the doom and gloom out of their system.

Unfortunately when it is a good time buy, it is a bad time to sell. You cannot have it both ways. So even more than the buyers waiting on the sidelines, the sellers are holding out. Inventory will drop making it a sellers market again before we know it, and all of those buyers who were waiting will realize they waited just a bit too long. The funny thing is, there is another cycle here. If nobody is putting their house on the market, and there are no new listings for the buyers to look at, isn't that the best time to put your home on the market?

Anja and I have a long list of buyers who are waiting for new properties to hit the market in various neighborhoods. There was a lot of new inventory in September; some of which is still sitting on the market and some sold right away, but in the last couple of weeks there has been very little.

If there is nothing coming out in any given neighborhood, and there are buyers out there waiting for something in that neighborhood, isn't that the time to put your home on the market? Yours will be the only house available! If you are thinking of selling but are unsure of market conditions, take a look around your neighborhood. See what else is available and for what price. If there are five other homes in your price range in your neighborhood for sale, you may want to wait. On the other hand, if you find yourself with a unique product, the time to sell just might be now.