Texas Real Estate Blog & Market News

Are you planning to sell your house soon? Just like other things in our life, knowing the best time to sell your house is very important. Still, it is quite impossible to know the right timing unless you have all the needed facts.

Experts in the real estate industry agree that most often, the best time to sell a house is during the summer and spring before the school season starts.

Selling at the Best Time

The current real estate market can be described as conventional. Despite the fact that most activities on house sales happen during the summer and spring months, the steady decline in real estate inventory has further lengthened the selling season, continuing to the fall.

Aside from time, it is also helpful to understand that buying and selling home vary according to the market. For example, houses in warmer locations receive better attention throughout the year, regardless of the season.

Truth is, if you ask different real estate agents as to when the best time is to sell your house, you will often get a consistent answer. Your decision to sell a home is a personal choice, which means that other factors should be taken into consideration, aside from the season.

This means that both current needs and the long-term goals should be given utmost consideration. For example, you may have been accepted to a new job, expecting your grown-up children to leave soon, or perhaps you are expecting a baby. Regardless of your reason, selling your home should harmonize with your needs and goals, both current and long-term.

Knowing When the Best Time Is

Before deciding to sell your house, there are certain factors that need to be taken into consideration.

• Personal Finances

Among all the factors that will be included in this list, your personal finances hold the top spot as the most important factor to consider. In fact, finances usually drive home sales.

If you have lived in your home for a number of years, you may already have the equity that you can utilize as a down payment for a new home. These resources may also be what you will use to supplement your retirement, or even pay other planned expenses.

For example, if your home is your main residence, and you have resided for about two to five years, there is no need to pay for capital gains tax on the first $250,000 for a single owner, as well as $500,000 for married owners, on the sale gains. It is also important to determine whether or not you have enough cash flow that can cover the costs that are associated with the move.

This amount does not cover the cost for any repairs that you are planning to make. This means that the best time to sell your home is when you already have extra savings that can cover these expenses.

• Changes in Your Life

As much as you want to, you may not always be able to plan for the changes that you will encounter in your life. At times, things may arise, and you realize the need to sell your home right away. You may have a new job, or transfer for purposes such as caring for your parents, sending your children to a different school, or others.

Acknowledge the fact that selling your home in such a short timeline can be challenging, though there are certain methods in which the process is lessened. If you are selling in a traditional way, sell your house as-is, which means that the price of the home is a bit lower, but in exchange for not doing any repairs, which can be both time consuming and costly.

• Seasonal Changes

At times, it is also best to sell your home during the peak months, allowing you to benefit from the higher prices on sales.  Sales in homes usually go up in February, even going up to the spring, all the way to the summer. This pattern may vary though, depending on the location of your home. For example, in warmer areas tend to be consistent.

To help deal with this even better, take some time to do research, getting yourself familiar with the current market trends. You may also want to ask more details from an expert real estate agent, asking how seasons may have an impact on the local real estate market.

• Upgrade or Downgrade

At times, a house may no longer suit your preferences or lifestyle. You may have to upgrade your home due to having a bigger family or acquiring more things. You may even want to extend your home in order to start a home-based business. This decision to upgrade may turn out to be spontaneous, but it will surely need more time to exactly consider the factors involved.

In contrast, you may want to downgrade your home. This may come as a result after seeing that you need to save money, reduce some clutter, or just save time on working at home. Moving and downsizing definitely carry its own expenses.

• Other Factors

Aside from the ones that are mentioned above, there are also other factors that need to be taken into consideration. One of the biggest factors involves the inventory of the houses for sale in the area. Having a low inventory only means that it is a recommended time for you to sell your house, since buyers may want to have more properties, even willing to pay more for your home.

Mortgage interest rates are another factor. When these rates are low, home buyers feel motivated to get mortgage loans. Having more buyers translate to more money.

There is no doubt that moving, and selling a home that has served as your residence is a very difficult decision for anybody, even one that is life-changing. With all of these factors considered, the best time for you to sell your house is when it is best for you. Weigh all of the options, and look at the bigger picture.