Home values are still strong and many properties are still listed at record highs. However, those properties are staying on the market a bit longer than before. Some are even beginning to drop their prices a little to try to get better interest on the property. While there is still plenty of interest in new property listings, the number of qualified buyers has gone down significantly. This is partly due to a combination of higher interest rates as well as higher monthly costs that have to be factored into each property like taxes and insurance. Covering these additional costs is a challenge for any homebuyer, whether they are an investor or not.
If you have a goal of selling your home before the end of the year, you still have time. However, there are a lot of things that you need to do. The first thing is to speak with an experienced realtor. The guidance and assistance you can get from a realtor when selling your home cannot be appreciated enough. These people are literally going to take 90% of the workload off your plate and manage the other party including the buyer and their realtor, something you will greatly appreciate throughout the process. A relator’s help can be noticeable at the very beginning when you take advantage of a free consultation and ask them based on your personal situation, your finances and the property you own, should you sell right now and can you get the property sold before the end of the year?
Is The Market Still Strong?
When you ask a realtor whether or not it is recommended for you to sell your home, and if you can get it sold quickly, they are going to take several things into consideration. Your personal finances, where you will live when you sell the home, how much you can get, the condition of the home and more all need to be considered. However, one of the things that is often overlooked is the current state of the real estate market. Believe it or not, while you should make this decision based on what gives you the best advantages, you do have to review the market and see where things are at currently.
Currently, if you were to list your property, you would get strong interest for whatever your asking price is, as long as it is within reason based on the condition of the property and where it is located. The market is still very strong and values remain high. However, some neighborhoods will sell faster than others, especially if you are focused on getting fair market value. The more time you invest into understanding how the local and larger markets are right now, the more confidence you will have in your strategy moving forward.
What Value Can You Get?
If your home is worth $500,000 right now? You cannot say for sure but your realtor can help you determine a fair market value and what you should list for. Listing prices are important, especially if you want to sell right away. If your home is worth that price, you may want to list for only $15,000 more or around that. This gives you the opportunity to go down in price a bit if needed, but also keeps the asking price reasonable to allow buyers to know that you are serious about selling. It’s important that you also keep yourself flexible to different types of loans and deals if you want to get the home moved quickly. Your realtor can guide you on each option and what would work best for you compared to other options from investors or buyers.
Value of the property is important, but it’s the demand that is going to determine if it will sell. If you have a beautiful home that is in great condition and in a hot market you could easily sell at that price within the week, you are still going to get serious offers and have the opportunity to close on the property before the end of the year. However, if your property needs a lot of work, that is going to limit who can buy and how quickly they want to buy. If you do not have the time or funding for the renovations that are needed, then that is going to impact the value and you have to be prepared for that hit, especially if you need to sell quickly.
What Do You Need To Do?
Is there time to make needed renovations on the house? If so, your realtor can help you determine what needs to be done and how to get it done. The key thing to remember is that you want to sell for a certain price. If you feel that the property is currently above that value, then you should list right away. However, if you and your realtor do not feel that way and instead feel that either lowering the price or waiting to make the renovations are the best ideas, then you need to think about those options and which one benefits you the most. If your goal is to grab as much value as possible but you need to sell before the end of the year, you need to make the price comparable to that motivation.
Will you get interest on an investment property, meaning a property that needs serious work as far as renovations go? Yes, if you price the property within reason and do not base the price on demand but instead, value. If homes in your neighborhood are worth $500,000 and yours is in need of $50,000 in renovations, that means right now you will probably not get full value. However, if you were to list the price of the property within reason of those needed repairs, it will drastically increase the interested parties who would want to purchase the property before the end of the year. If you can increase the demand for the property for any reason, you are improving your timeframe.
Tips From An Experienced Realtor
Remember that in all real estate situations, both realtors want the deal to get done. That means that as the seller, you have an advantage to work with your realtor not only to determine what to do with each option, but also what to demand for the property. Your realtor is not going to want to undersell the property but instead maximize profits. Working with them throughout, especially when setting expectations on the home, is ideal and usually generates the best results.
