If you are looking to sell a home, now is the time.
According to Realtor.com, the plethora of sellers sitting on the sidelines waiting to get the most out of the sale of their home should find some motivation to get on their feet and get the process started as now is the best time to sell a home according to a new survey form Realtor.com and Censuswide.
According to the survey, the average homeowner has been lying in wait for an average of two years, with 85% considering a sale for between 1-3 years. At the same time, most recent sellers (79%), feel that if they’d listed sooner, they would have been able to take advantage of a hotter housing market.
“Plenty of homeowners have been eagerly waiting for mortgage rates to come down so that they can sell their current home and more affordably upgrade to a new one,” said Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “With mortgage rates expected to ease slowly throughout the year, some potential sellers are planning to get off the sidelines in 2024 and make a move, with the majority expecting to buy a new home at the same time that they sell their current one.”
Realtor.com’s housing forecast for 2024
- The forecast estimates average mortgage rates of 6.8%, with rates edging down to reach 6.5% by the end of the year. While rates and the market will stabilize as we go through 2024, homeowners who are planning to sell are aware of ongoing affordability headwinds.
- 73% of homeowners who plan to sell their home this year plan to buy another at the same time, down from 85% last year.
- 79% of prospective sellers who plan to buy a new home say they feel locked into their current home due to a low interest rate, down from 82% in 2023.
- Of those who feel locked into their rate, 50% say they plan to wait until rates come down, while 29% say they need to sell soon for personal reasons. In 2023, 56% said they’d wait for rates to come down, while 25% said they needed to sell.
- 64% of potential sellers who also plan to buy expect the mortgage rate on their new home to be the same or higher than their existing rate.
- 81% of sellers who think their new rate will be higher say they’re concerned that the higher rate will impact how much home they can afford.
Would-be sellers have more realistic expectations for their home sale than last year
Sellers remain optimistic about the market and potential sellers are approaching their sale this spring with noticeably more realistic expectations than sellers in previous years.
With the market cooling in many areas, 12% expect a bidding war to take place, compared to 27% in 2023, and only 15% expect to get more than their asking price, down from 31% last year. A less frenzied market from years past means 15% expect to have an offer within a week, down from 37% in 2023, and 15% expect buyers to be willing to forgo contingencies like inspections and appraisals to make the deal, down from 35% in 2023.
According to the survey, on average, homeowners planning to sell this year say they want to sell their home for around $462,000, with one-third saying they are hoping for between $400,000-500,000. Around 24% say they are hoping for $250,000-400,000, while 24% are looking for $500,000-$750,000.
Finances top list of reasons to sell
Many homeowners who are thinking of selling this year cite finances among the factors behind their decision, with 24% saying they want to make a profit and 21% saying they want to take advantage of recent price gains. Changing family needs are also driving the decision to sell. Reasons included the need to move for family (24%), the need for more space (23%), to downsize (23%) and because of life changes such as marriage, children or divorce (18%).
Click here for the link to the study.
