Is the Time Right to Sell Your Home?

Selling your home isn't easy, and neither is deciding if the time is right to sell. Our REALTORS® have helped countless people sell their homes in Fairborn. If you're struggling with the decision to sell your home, we're here to help.

Watching the Market

It doesn't make much sense to sell your home based entirely on what the housing market is doing. After all, the best time to sell is when you're ready—not when the market is ready. That said, it never hurts to know the state of the housing market. If you're on the fence about selling your house, knowing that the market forecast looks good might be just the nudge you need to put you over the edge.

Fortunately, the market outlook for this year is quite promising for sellers. Sales of existing homes were 0.4% higher in 2017 than they were in 2016, and the upward trend appears to be holding steady. Although mortgage rates are expected to rise in the next year, inventory remains tight and demand remains high; the National Association of REALTORS® predicts that houses will sell for more in 2018 than they did last year.

Knowing When to Sell

Having the housing market in your favor is a nice bonus, but it's not the primary motivation to sell a house for most people. Your reasons may be financial or they may be personal. Either way, it's understandable to be unsure. Selling a home is a big decision, and you'd be crazy not to think twice about it. These are a few signs that might suggest that the time is right for you:

• Your home no longer matches your lifestyle. We outgrow homes for all kinds of reasons, or they outgrow us. Needing more space due to the impending arrival of a new family member is one of the most common reasons for selling a home. A desire to downsize after children have moved out is not far behind.
  
  
• You have some equity in your home. Equity is the value of your property minus any home loans (so if your property is worth $300,000, and your mortgage balance is $250,000, you have $50,000 in equity). If you can sell your house for enough to pay off your mortgage and all related selling costs, now might be a good time to sell. If not, it's wise to wait until you pay down your mortgage, or your home increases in value (or both).
  
  
• You're done with home improvement. Before putting your home on the market, be sure to wrap up any remodeling or home improvement projects that you're working on. Some relatively small projects, especially kitchen and bathroom upgrades, nearly pay for themselves in terms of increasing the resale value of your home.
  
  
• You can afford to move. It's nice to have some cash rolling in from the sale of your home, but selling a house comes with some costs as well. You will probably need to pay a commission, and it's not unheard of for the buyer to ask the seller to pay the closing costs. Moving expenses can also add up, and if you plan on buying your next home, you'll have to have enough saved up for the down payment. All this is to say that it's smart to have a nest egg saved up before selling your current home.

Still think you're ready to sell your home? Contact Wright-Patt Realty to learn more. We offer years of experience in the local Fairborn, Ohio real estate market, and our team is committed to getting you the right price for your home.