Selling in the Fall: What you need to know

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Selling Your Home in the Fall:  What You Need to Know

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Most homeowners who are planning to sell their homes in the not-too-distant future think it is best to wait until the spring market to list their homes. Conventional wisdom is that more buyers are looking in the spring months and so the odds of selling your home in the fall at your desired price are better.
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Not so fast. Allow us to break down why selling your home in the fall, especially THIS fall, may be the wiser move.

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​1. SERIOUS BUYERS
People need to move at all times of the year, due to such transitions as a job relocation or life change. The people looking in the Fall are not lookie-loos, but serious house hunters. While yes, there may be fewer buyers in the fall market than in the lightning fast spring market, there are more SERIOUS buyers looking in the fall than in any other time of the year.

2. INTEREST RATES ARE ON THE RISE IN 2018 & 2019.
Interest rates usually go up in the spring so financially savvy buyers are out there looking NOW.  Furthermore, The Fed has said recently that they intend to raise rates twice more in 2018 and perhaps three more times in 2019. It’s certainly possible to see mortgage rates above 5 percent before the year is over should the Fed follow through with these plans. This will affect the overall market, but it will especially affect move-up buyers, many of which have mortgage rates around 3% if they purchased 6-8 years ago.  A change to a mortgage of 3% to 5% will be a huge jump for many. 

3. LESS INVENTORY
The best of all reasons for selling now is that fewer houses are listed in the fall months so buyers have fewer homes from which to choose. A smaller housing inventory means that odds of a buyer wanting YOUR home increase (and could even turn into a multiple offer situation). The inventory of available homes is very low in our area and has been for well over a year now.  Since few sellers like to put their homes on in August there is pent-up demand.

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If you are looking to buy or sell, a first time homebuyer, or looking to move up, reach out to us.  Our team is here and ready to help!

By Sue Goodhart

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