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Should I Buy or Sell Now?

Posted October 31, 2022 in Real Estate Trends

tracie demars, Clark County WA real estate agent

Real estate is always changing. Many Realtors are going to tell you the market is fine, and to go ahead and jump in. For many people right now, it feels like a shark telling the boaters that the water is fine to go swimming in. Is that shark Jaws, or Bruce (from Finding Nemo…”fish are friends, not food”)? The answer is the shark is both.

There are pros and cons to every market, as in everything in life. The past few years interest rates were crazy, and once in a lifetime lows, but with multiple offers on almost every home, people were bidding well over list price, and bringing that extra cash to close. Inspections? Many people were waiving them. Being able to finance your closing costs? Forget it! Repairs? Not going to happen. There was little to no negotiation for buyers. Offers were so much higher than list price and for so many buyers without pockets full of cash, they were frozen out of the market.

Yes, interest rates have gone up and that is scary… especially when so many people don’t remember a market where rates were not being bought down by government influence. Home prices have softened though. Sellers are willing to negotiate closing costs, and repairs. If a home doesn’t appraise, buyers have the ability to negotiate that, too. It is a more balanced market. Homes are on the market longer, and now buyers & sellers are on a more even playing field.

PROS & CONS

The best time to buy a home is when it is the best time for YOU. If rates continue to go up (as they are currently projected to do), aren’t you going to be glad you bought a home now? If rates go down, then you can refinance for the lower rate. Prices will continue to adjust as interest rates effect the market, but that does not mean that your mortgage payments will be less.

First time home buyer? Buy the home. This is your first home, but won’t be your last. With a mortgage, you know what your payment is going to be. Rents are brutal right now, and I am surprised by the stories I hear of rent increases. One of my clients had a rent increase of $600 this year because (per her landlords) they didn’t raise the rent for the past couple of years due to Covid. Everyone pays a mortgage… the question is whose mortgage are you paying?

Thinking about selling your home? Sell the home. With more people being able to work remotely we are seeing many people moving all over the place. I have other clients moving up to their next home because contingent offers are getting accepted again. Yes, they may be assisting with closing costs on their sell, but they are also getting them on their purchase too.

In short… Buy (or sell) when it is the best time for you and your family to do so. So many people are waiting for that ‘perfect’ moment, and are missing the boat right now because of it. Yes, it is scary, and there is a lot of unknowns in the real estate & rental markets right now. However, remember that not all sharks are Jaws… some are more like Bruce, or even Lenny (c’mon… Shark Tale is a fantastic movie), but just like any market, know the pros/cons before you jump in the water.

This takes me to the obvious… take a home buyer, or home seller education class! They are in person at Marshall or Firstenberg, and/ or online through zoom. For more information on upcoming classes, go to www.LearningToBuyAHome.com & www.FreeSellerClasses.com. Always free, and always non-promotional!