Is Timing Really Everything?

This is the question of all questions when it comes to real estate. As a professional agent and marketing specialist, I talk to homeowners during every month of the year who are hoping to “time the market” to sell their home for as much as possible.

The common misconception is that a home will sell for more money during one season as opposed to another one. Unfortunately, we’ve never found any data whatsoever to support that in the Rochester area.

But, Timing Really Is Not EVERYTHING

In some areas of the country, there are more buyers in the summer, and in other areas, winter is the big season. But guess what??? That’s not the most important thing you should think about when you’re selling your home!

The most ridiculous thing anyone can do when making a move from their primary residence is to try to “time the market” in lieu of making the move when their family needs change.

In real estate, we know that housing needs change when people go through a life change. In other words, a birth or death in the family, a job promotion or a job loss, children heading off to college, a marriage or divorce, and other things of this nature. The last thing you’d ever want to do is wait until “the hot market” time in the area.

The truth is, everything is based on supply and demand and your home won’t sell for more money when there are five times as many homes available for sale in your neighborhood.

So, What Should We Really Be Timing?

In reality, if you are going to be securing a mortgage to buy your next home, you should time the market by watching interest rates. Since rates are going up – and probably will for the next several years, – the absolute BEST time to buy a home was three months ago. The next best time is right now. Waiting a year or two can cause your monthly mortgage amount to increase by several hundred dollars per month based on the higher interest rate.

While nobody can precisely predict the future of the economy in any country, it’s safe to say that rates will never go any lower than they’ve been lately. It may be wise to find that new place sooner, rather than later.

If you feel like your family deserves a bigger home and could really utilize the extra space, now is the time for us to start casually looking around with no commitment to officially making a move. But for my clients, I want to ensure they don’t wait until rates are way up again, pricing them out of the ability to secure a larger home for the same monthly payment they have now.

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