Should I Sell My House Now?
Is it a good time to sell a house? Should I sell my house now?
These are the questions real estate agents frequently ask potential home sellers. There could be reasons you need to sell your home now and don’t have much choice.
However, learning the best time to sell a house can be essential when you have the flexibility.
If you ask yourself, “Should I sell my home now or wait?” it’s essential to know that the answer can be different for everyone.
The local real estate market could significantly impact your home sale, but assessing your reasons for selling is vital.
Selling a home in any season – winter, spring, summer, and fall- is possible.
Although some will argue that there are better seasons to sell in than others, the fact is that if you understand your market and how seasons affect it, you can find a buyer for your house.
You have to adopt the appropriate selling strategy for your circumstances.
The following tips help you take advantage of the specific season you are selling in.
By utilizing these tips, you can increase your odds of making a successful sale in any season, whether spring, summer, fall, or winter.
Remember that there are differences in home-selling seasons in various parts of the country.
For example, selling a home in the winter in sunny Florida will be much different than in the brutal Northeast or Midwest, where the weather conditions are much different.
Your local real estate agent should be able to give you a good idea of the best time to sell your home.
Look for an agent who is honest and doesn’t need a sale. The agent who says now is always a good time to sell may not be looking out for your best interests. If you have no time constraints on selling, there will be a better time than another.
Spring is the ultimate time of year to sell, as I am located in the Metrowest, Massachusetts, area. There are more buyers than at any other time.
Simple supply and demand economics tells us that it is better for sellers when more buyers are looking.
Is It a Good Time to Sell a House?
Whether it is an excellent time to sell a home is one of the best questions to ask a Realtor.
It is essential to understand that all real estate is local. What might be happening in the real estate market where I am located could differ from yours.
Interest rates are historically on the lower side. They are not rock bottom like a few years ago, but they are still very attractive.
Inventory of homes for sale also remains low in many areas of the country. These two factors will significantly affect whether it is an excellent time to sell a house. Supply and demand always significantly impact house pricing.
The cost of borrowing money is also a factor that will play into whether it is an excellent time to sell a house from a macro perspective.
The reasons to sell your house now could differ from one person to the next.
For example, do you have a job opportunity out of state that will pay you more money? Maybe you currently live in a condo or townhouse and want to move to a larger home in a neighborhood.
On the other hand, you could be the exact opposite and want to downsize into a smaller home.
Analyzing the local market to decide whether it’s a good time to relocate is always an excellent idea. Are home prices increasing or decreasing? What is the current inventory of homes for sale?
The answers to these questions could influence your decision.
When to Sell a House
Let’s examine the best time to sell a home more carefully.
The Housing Supply is Low.
One of the common questions a realtor will ask clients is whether it is a buyer’s or seller’s market. When few homes are available to purchase, the likelihood is that it is a seller’s market.
If the inventory is significant, then it’s the exact opposite. Many homes for sale lead to a buyer’s market.
With few homes to purchase, it is an excellent time to sell. As the last few years have shown, low inventory leads to bidding wars.
Buyers will try to outduel their competition by giving sellers the exact terms they want. Buyers will resort to tactics such as adding an escalation clause to the offers.
Prices increase, and buyers must remove common real estate contingencies from their offers to land a home. Many sellers have been selling their homes as-is.
Whether that will continue is anyone’s guess. However, it looks like the market will become more balanced in many areas of the country.
You May Want to Move Upward With Tax Advantages
A great reason to sell your home is to move to a larger property. By selling, you can take the equity out of your home and put it into a more desirable home.
One of the tax benefits of owning a home is capitalizing on the exclusion of real estate capital gains. If you are single, you can shield $250,000 in profit. If you’re married, that number jumps to $500,000.
You can take advantage of several tax deductions when selling a house.
Relocation Out of State
Relocating out of state often forces people to sell their homes. This is as good a reason as any to sell your house. Most people don’t want to be responsible for keeping their homes and become landlords.
There can be pros and cons to renting or selling, but for most, the most straightforward approach is to sell.
When to Stay Put in Your Current Home
There could be excellent reasons for not selling your home. Let’s have a look.
You Don’t Have Enough Income or Equity to Move
Even with real estate values increasing for the last few years, some owners don’t have enough equity to move up. Maybe you purchased high? You also could have been expecting a raise that didn’t come.
Moving to relocate usually isn’t the best game plan. You could find yourself struggling to make ends meet.
The Supply of Homes is High, and It’s a Buyer’s Market
If there are more homes for sale than buyers, it’s considered a buyer’s market. When the market favors buyers, it is usually an excellent time to hold off selling.
Unless you find a real bargain, you might be better off staying in your current home. The chances increase, and you won’t get the best terms from your sale.
Buyers will be more demanding when the home inspection takes place. You could have to make numerous requested repairs or offer seller’s concessions.
Whatever time you decide to sell your home, you can use these home-selling tips for all seasons!
Interest Rates Have Increased Significantly
One of the most significant reasons many homeowners are holding off selling is because interest rates have jumped. If you currently have a three percent mortgage, there is less incentive to want to move to something much higher.
For many folks, that is their current situation. It has helped keep inventory levels lower than expected. The best time to sell a house isn’t when your mortgage interest rate won’t be attractive.
Many potential sellers will wait for the best interest rate before relocating.
Your Home Needs Repairs and Improvements
The presentation is one of the most crucial aspects of selling a home fast and for top dollar. If your home isn’t up to snuff, it is an excellent reason to hold off until you can improve.
Home staging is crucial to get the best return from your investment. There are several things you can do to improve the appeal.
Start by decluttering and work from there. Call one of the best junk removal companies and get your house cleaned out.
If you have anything you don’t want to take with you, consider a donation pick up with a charity.
Once your home is free of all the unnecessary items, work on making repairs to glaring things. Anything that will jump out to a buyer. Every improvement you make will ensure you sell for the most money possible.
That being said, let’s examine the best and worst months to sell a home.
Understanding Capital Gains Taxes
As mentioned, it’s imperative to consider the implications of capital gains taxes. These taxes can take a significant bite of your profits if you’re unprepared.
For individuals, up to $250,000 of profit from the sale of a primary residence can be excluded from capital gains taxes and up to $500,000 for married couples filing jointly, provided certain conditions are met.
These conditions include owning and using the home as your primary residence for at least two of the five years preceding the sale. This tax benefit is crucial, especially if your home has substantially appreciated.
Consulting with a tax advisor is advisable for more detailed guidance. I always recommend my clients speak with professionals for potential strategies for minimizing their tax liability. It is essential to maximize their financial outcome and strategically plan their future housing and financial goals.
The Impact of Market Trends on Your Sale
In today’s changing real estate market, staying abreast of current market trends is paramount for sellers aiming to maximize their returns.
Factors such as interest rates, inventory levels, and buyer demand significantly influence the optimal timing for listing your property. For instance, a seller’s market is characterized by low inventory and high demand, leading to bidding wars and potentially driving up your home’s sale price.
On the other hand, buyers have the upper hand in a buyer’s market where inventory exceeds demand. Sellers may need to adjust their expectations accordingly.
Additionally, understanding the impact of mortgage interest rates on buyer affordability can guide your decision on when to enter the market.
Aligning your selling strategy with these market dynamics can enhance your chances of a successful and profitable sale. To learn more about how these trends could affect your situation, I recommend speaking with a seasoned local real estate agent who can provide tailored advice and insights.
Best and Worst Months to Sell a House
Now that we have laid out why you may or may not want to sell your house let’s look at the best and worst months to sell.
You’ll also find the best home-selling tips for each season.
Fall Home Selling Tips
Let’s examine how to sell a home in the fall.
Fall is the other season that has always been popular for selling a home. The cooler weather makes going outside more enjoyable than in the summer, and many homes will go on the market once sellers return from their vacations.
You will have more competition in the fall, but you will also have more buyers looking for homes.
See some of the best Fall home selling tips, including:
Keep The Yard Clean.
The leaves will fall, and certain plants will die off as the first cold weather hits. You may have to rake multiple times weekly to keep up with the leaves.
While it is OK to have some leaves in the yard, they do make it look seasonal, so you don’t want piles of them everywhere or accumulation on your walkways and doorways.
Get Into The Season.
Fall gives you easy decorating ideas to make the home feel more inviting.
Halloween and Thanksgiving offer decorations, color palettes, refreshments, treats, and lighting design opportunities.
Even a slight touch here or there to remind buyers of the holidays can help sell your home.
Keeping your decorations in tune with the coming holiday is a great move. Like businesses and retail stores, you can make your home festive for potential buyers.
Seeing themselves and their families enjoying these holidays in your home can be much easier.
Bake Something.
Fall and winter are great times to bake cookies or other treats for buyers seeing the home.
Having something to snack on is only half the reason you do this. The other reason is the smell. Baking smells like home.
Related: Also, check out more fall home selling advice in this article from Inlanta Mortgage.
Winter Home Selling Tips
Understanding how to sell a home in the winter is essential. In most areas of the country, in frigid weather climates, winter is the worst month to sell a house.
With all the holidays and traveling, winter is probably the least advantageous season you can pick.
But today’s real estate agents understand that selling in winter offers certain advantages and benefits you can use to increase your sales. While winter is one of the most challenging times to sell, you can make the best of it.
Buyers in winter are serious, and the season inspires emotions, both of which can make it easier to sell your home.
See some of the best home-selling tips for winter, including these:
Decorate For The Seasons.
The holidays are prime decorating time, so set your home up as the perfect place to spend them.
Warm lighting, a fire in the fireplace, candles, a Christmas tree with presents underneath.
You can create something to draw in buyers and make them imagine being there with their families.
One of the benefits of selling in the winter is how festive homes can look.
Keep The Exterior Safe.
Remove ice and snow regularly to avoid falling hazards.
Keep snow off of the roof to prevent ice dams, and clean out the gutters to avoid having them tear off the side of the house when it freezes.
Be Flexible About Showings.
Buyers may have a busy schedule, so you might get requests to show the house at odd hours. This is just a part of selling in winter, so try to be flexible.
If the buyer is motivated enough to visit at night in the freezing weather, they may be motivated enough to buy.
Keep The House Warm.
While you may want to save on energy bills, you want buyers to feel comfortable in the home.
Keep the thermostat up when you are showing to relax visitors and avoid suspicions that your furnace is faulty.
Winter is usually the worst month to sell a house, so if you don’t have any time constraints, choosing another month might be best.
Spring Home Selling Tips
Let’s look at how to sell a home in the spring. When you want to sell a house fast, this is the time to do it.
Spring has always been a popular time to sell homes. It is without question the best time to sell a house. Why is spring the best time to sell a home?
More buyers are in the market than at any other time, and properties look their best.
The weather is slowly getting warmer, and the days are getting longer. People feel like breaking out of their homes and doing something—like finding the perfect house to buy.
Spring is the perfect time to sell your home, so take advantage of all the enthusiasm and get it listed!
Tips for selling in spring include the following:
Brighten Things Up.
Your home needs to look clean, bright, and welcoming. You want to remove the heavy drapes you had over the winter and replace them with lighter curtains that let the sunshine in.
You could also paint dark rooms with a lighter or neutral color, making the space look bigger.
Clean Up The Landscaping.
One of the things that should be on your spring home maintenance checklist is sprucing up the landscaping and general exterior appeal.
The last dead growth left from winter must be cleaned out for new development.
Rake up any remaining leaves, remove dead plants, plant new plants in the empty spaces, and throw down a few bags of mulch to complete the task.
Perennial plants work well for the spring home-selling season.
Clean and Declutter The House.
You probably spend most of your time in your home in the colder months, which can lead to clutter.
Before you list your home, you will want to get rid of the clutter and thoroughly clean it. Dirty, cluttered houses do not sell as well as clean ones.
You can start by donating to charity, and all the more prominent items left over might be best if they were put into a storage unit until the sale closes.
Mike Kotler with Mike Kotler Realty knows the importance of decluttering and showing the best of a home with these tips:
“To improve your home attractiveness and increase its value, try organizing it with a decluttering strategy called ‘purposeful spaces.’
I always tell my clients to give each room a purpose and creating defined areas. For example, you can transform spaces into reading corners or functional home office nooks. By doing this, you help potential buyers understand how to utilize each space and highlight your home’s flexibility and charm. This approach can make your property more appealing and significantly enhance its worth.”
Fix What Needs Fixing.
Winter can be hard on a home, particularly its exterior. Before you list the house, you will want to look closely at the roof, gutters, and siding to ensure nothing is broken or needs cleaning.
Buyers will examine the exterior closely, so you should address this now rather than after the buyer tries to negotiate a lower price on your home.
Have a look at more advice for getting your home ready for spring. It is ideal to be prepared to sell in the spring.
You will likely find spring is the best month to sell a house.
Summer Home Selling Tips
Let’s examine how to sell a home in the summer.
Summer is the other season where selling has not always been encouraged. Families are going on vacation, making them less likely to look for a home. However, as with winter, summer has increasingly become a season where motivated sellers exploit the lack of competition.
Many people still want to find a home, and moving in the summer is perfect if you have kids in school. See some of the best home-selling tips for summer, including these:
Keep The House Cool.
Buyers viewing your home will come in from a hot exterior and appreciate cooling down inside.
Keeping the home nice and cool also demonstrates that your HVAC unit can keep the house comfortable, which is essential to buyers.
Serve Some Refreshments.
If your region has summer favorites for refreshments, offer them at showings to make the buyer feel welcome.
Iced tea, lemonade, and other drinks can make buyers feel at home, precisely what you want them to think as they decide whether to purchase your house.
Keep The Yard Looking Good.
Buyers will imagine barbecues and outdoor parties when they walk through your backyard, so you want to make the space look like it will work for these things.
Keep the grass mowed and plant some flowers. If you don’t have outdoor furniture, add an inexpensive table and some chairs outback.
Be Willing to Show The House Later in The Day.
Buyers may request to see the home once the temperature cools down or after other obligations that may run late.
With so much daylight available, you need to be flexible about when you want to let people view the home.
Summer is not the best month to sell a house, but not the worst.
Best General Home Selling Advice
It goes without saying that besides some specific seasonal selling tips, there is some good advice all homeowners should follow, including the following:
Price Your Home Right!
Pricing a home correctly is the #1 thing you need to get right, or you will not succeed. The right price is an essential part of marketing.
Pick The Best Real Estate Agent
Knowing how to pick a real estate agent – is the second most important thing you need for home selling success. Real Estate agents have a wide range of skill levels.
It is effortless to choose a lousy agent. Make sure you put the time and energy into interviewing multiple agents before deciding on one that will get the job done.
Focus on Real Estate Marketing
Make sure your home has exceptional real estate marketing – this goes hand in hand with picking the best real estate agent.
The best Realtors almost always do a bang-up job with their marketing efforts. Look over the agent’s marketing plan carefully. Make sure they have outstanding photography, spend time crafting great real estate descriptions, and use video tours in their marketing.
Prepare For The Inspections
Prepare your home for the market and the buyer’s inspection. Your home should look its best before going on the market.
Some sellers also neglect to prepare their houses for the buyer’s inspection. This is a big mistake; the home inspection is the biggest hurdle to clear in a real estate transaction.
It’s often the place where sales fall apart. This could have been prevented if more attention had been paid to apparent problems.
Remember, getting the price correct is critical whether you are selling a home in the fall, winter, spring, or summer. You can follow all of these home-selling tips, but they won’t help if you get the price wrong!
Never underestimate the importance of choosing the right real estate agent with a track record of pricing homes correctly from day one.
Additional Helpful Home Selling Articles
- Hire 1-800-Got-Junk – when selling a home, it is always an excellent idea to haul away any junk inside and out at your property. 1-800-Got-Junk is one of the leading companies for junk removal services.
- Reasons to sell a home in the winter—learn why selling a house in the winter could be worthwhile via Matt Minor.
Final Thoughts On Is It a Good Time to Sell a House
Home selling can be done in any season of the year. Some may be better than others, depending on where you’re located.
Hopefully, you have enjoyed these spring, summer, fall, and winter home-selling tips! Homes sell year-round, so don’t be afraid to put your home on the market whenever is best for YOU!
If you are considering selling a home in the Metrowest, Massachusetts, area, don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or for assistance.
About the Author: Bill Gassett, a nationally recognized leader in his field, has provided information on when it is a good time to sell a house. Bill has expertise in mortgages, financing, moving, home improvement, and general real estate.
Learn more about Bill Gassett and the publications in which he has been featured. Bill can be reached via email at billgassett@remaxexec.com or by phone at 508-625-0191. For the past 38+ years, Bill has helped people move in and out of Metrowest towns.
Are you thinking of selling your home? I am passionate about real estate and love sharing my marketing expertise!
I service Real Estate Sales in the following Metrowest MA towns: Ashland, Bellingham, Douglas, Framingham, Franklin, Grafton, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hopedale, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Natick, Northborough, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sutton, Wayland, Westborough, Whitinsville, Worcester, Upton, and Uxbridge Massachusetts.
