If you want to buy your dream home or are looking to sell your current home, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the type of market you are approaching. As you may know, the housing market is constantly in flux. The fluctuation seen can be influenced by economic downturns, interest rates, and even confidence in consumers. Regardless, we want you to be best prepared as either a buyer or a seller to enter the market and receive an optimal experience.
What is a Seller’s Market
When entering a seller’s market, it’s important to remember that sellers have negotiating power. Since there are generally more buyers than homes, properties tend to sell at or above their listing price. In this sense, properties usually sell fast!
How to approach selling your home?
- Make sure your home is ready to go! Tidy your interior, and keep your exterior well maintained. Maybe try remodelling or refreshing the one room in your home that you’ve always wanted to. The more boxes your home can tick, the better.
- Be flexible with the terms you set forth. You may need to offer an elongated closing date or be flexible with your asking price. Be prepared for anything.
- Be patient. You may be given offers the day your home goes for sale. But be sure to consider the terms of each proposal and think about what might still be offered by future buyers.
How to be an optimal seller
- You want to get the best price for your home! Think about if you’re going to list your home at a low price to stimulate a bidding war or if you want to list it high to set the bar.
- Work with your agent to determine which offer you receive is the best and most beneficial to you and your selling needs. There is a difference between what offer sounds ideal and which offer will close without issues.
- Whether or not your home closes in one week or forty-five days, have your next home prepared so the transition from move-out to move-in will be a breeze!
What is a Buyers Market?
In a buyer’s market, the negotiating power shifts. In this case, people who want to buy homes have more power than those selling. This is due to the fact that there are more homes to sell than there are buyers. However, since more properties are on the market, homes sell slowly. If you are a seller in a buyer’s market, don’t be afraid of doing some maintenance on your home to improve your chances of making an optimal sale!
Things to think about as a buyer
- Be sure you are pre-approved for a mortgage. You want to be sure that you are financially stable when bidding against other buyers for the same house. Solidifying your finances is the best way to prepare for your offer.
- Act fast. Properties come and go on the market in a blink of an eye, so stay on top of listings and know precisely what you’re looking for.
- Prepare to bid. You most likely will not be the only buyer looking at your dream home. Your best bet is to decide on your limit ahead of time and know what you can and cannot afford.
What is a Balanced Market?
When a balanced market exists, it is due to a stabilization in supply and demand. As a result, this creates both stable prices and an equal number of sellers to buyers. In this sense, sensible offers tend to produce less tension between buyers and sellers.
How to tell what type of market you’re in?
Try and familiarize yourself with what properties are on the market currently and consider how long they have been listed, as this will help you determine if homes are selling quickly or slowly. Additionally, learn how many homes are for sale in your current area. If the number is low, you are most likely in a seller’s market. However, if many homes are being listed, you are presumably in a buyers market. Finally, consider communicating with a real estate agent at the Peggy Hill Team who can help you successfully navigate the changing markets as either a buyer or a seller.
