Is Now a Bad Time to Buy or Sell?

I’m pretty certain that at this point everyone is in agreement that the real estate market has taken a big turn in recent months (see this post I wrote back in April when the market was CRAZY). So if you’re a buyer or a seller in today’s market, you might be wondering, is now a bad time to buy or to sell? Well here’s my take, and if you’re an agent like me, you can use it to advise your clients in the best possible way… 

IS NOW A BAD TIME TO BUY? 

For you buyers that were unable to purchase something during the height of the market (due to immense competition with other buyers), well NOW is your chance. There is more inventory available which means more options to choose from—yay! And there’s also less competition with other buyers so you can ACTUALLY get something this time around. 

And not to mention, for a much better price than those buyers that bought a few months back! So basically you don’t need to sell your soul (or a limb) to get a new home. Although interest rates have risen to an uncomfortable new territory for many, historically they are still considered low, and the unfortunate fact is, they are only expected to continue to go up in the foreseeable future. 

Therefore, if you have an actual need, or even just the desire to relocate, upgrade, or make moves, keep in mind that now is a much better time to buy before rates go up again. In fact, there’s an old saying that says “money is made on the purchase, not on the sale”, and so although it sounds backward and almost counterintuitive, timing the buy is actually much less important than timing the SALE. Think about it— owning real estate is the safest investment and the best hedge against inflation. Just plan to hold on to the property for as long as it will take to make you a profit. As long as you refinance when rates go back down, and you don’t aim to resell at the bottom of the market, you might find that right now is actually a better time to buy a new home than you think. 

IS NOW A BAD TIME TO SELL?

Again, compared to a few months back, today’s sellers are a bit confused about what to do. If you have a lot of equity in your home and no real need to sell your property, perhaps you might be thinking you will just stay put where you are for now. However, if you’re needing or wanting to sell your home right now, then you might have a few tough questions/decisions going through your mind such as 1) if you sell now, is it a bad time to go buy something else? (well, for my answer to that, see above!) and 2) how much are you willing to sell your property for and will the price meet your expectations? 

And what I have to say to those questions is as follows: If you have the need or want to buy another property that would require you to sell your current home, guess what? Yep, now is the time. As I mentioned before, buyers who lost out in the previous market are currently scrambling to purchase something before interest rates continue to rise. A lot of buyers still have savings accrued or retained from the pandemic and, in my opinion, that money has not run out yet. So I would say as a seller, do yourself a favor and capture those buyers now before the buyer pool starts whittling down in accordance with the climbing rates. Just be prepared to price your home accordingly to ensure a swift sale, and avoid chasing down the market. 

I hope this was helpful! If you have any questions or would like to work with me or if you need a referral in your target market, please feel free to reach out!

xx, Farrah