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What an amazing year we had for home Sellers, and our new year promises to be even better. With year-over-year increasing sales beginning in 2016, we have seen a more robust housing market realized since 2006.
Get Very Excited if You Plan to Sell Your Home This Year
The combination of high demand for homes and shrinking inventories produces a Seller's market and typically signals rising home prices. Forecasters expect home prices to continue rising this year in our area and into the next upcoming few years.
In addition, inventories of available homes are still at an all time low. So, yes - although it sounds trite - the best time to sell your home is right now, while inventory is still low. If you will be selling a home priced in the low-to-middle price tier for your market, expect it to go quickly and for top dollar. You will have little competition and the demand in this price range is strong, according to Shu Chen of CoreLogic.
While this type of market makes it easy for home Sellers to become complacent, if you expect to get top dollar for your home and want it to sell quickly, do the work required to ensure that it's in move-in condition. This means taking a hard look at your property from a potential Buyer's perspective. Make repairs, remove and clear out clutter (including your yard if you have one), be aware of odors and do what ever you can to eradicate them, and most importanly, clean, clean, clean!
Buying a Home This Year?
While it may seem like there isn't a whole lot for homebuyers to get excited about this year, there is one bonus for you: low interest rates. In fact, 30-year mortgage rates continue to fall, down from the same time last year.
Combine the low rates with more relaxed lending guidelines and there is definitely good news for the homebuyer. Lower mortgage rates mean a lower monthly payment, which means you have more purchasing power, and that additional power can "mean the difference between buying a 2-bedroom home versus a 3-bedroom one; between buying a home with large closets versus small closets; and, between buying an upgraded home versus a dated one," according to Dan Green at The Mortgage Reports.
We still see those deep-pocketed Buyers who pay all cash for homes and there is still plenty of competition out there from other homebuyers for homes in good locations and in decent condition. This makes it more important than ever to have all your ducks in a row before making an offer on a property. Ensure you know exactly how much you can spend and that you've obtained a preapproval letter from your lender. Make your offer stand out from the others by keeping it lean and mean, with the shortest time periods for contingencies as possible. While we're still in a Seller's market, come in with your highest and best offer.
Finally, if you've been sitting on the fence waiting for prices to come down, jump off. Home prices are currently rising twice as quickly as incomes, and it doesn't appear the situation will change in the near future.
Contact us today. We are here to serve you!
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