Stepping outside in the heat, kids home for the summer, and that promise of a beach vacation just on the horizon can only mean one thing — summer.
While most home selling activities typically start in the spring, the summer is when the market and home sales truly begin to heat up (pun fully intended). By the end of June and early July, the majority of homes listed earlier in the year will have already sold, leaving less of a competitive pool for sellers in the summer. This summer especially, with a vague sense of questioning the state of the market with predictions of a recession in the US, the urgency to sell a home now rather than waiting is incredibly emphasized. Historically, amidst a recession, there is more focus on putting pressure on everyday costs, leaving most people having a harder time affording big purchases such as buying a home. This prediction leaves sellers with a call to sell now— in order to avoid future uneasiness in the real estate market.
With an ever-changing market, there are no promises, bringing an air of urgency to sellers in the market now. Experts and pattern analysis exhibit some of the most persuasive arguments to sell a home now, rather than waiting.
A Seller’s Market
In a report by Homelight, 98% of real estate agents reported that they were in a sellers market, as if Q1 of 2022. Their research supports that the relatively low supply of homes on the market right now shows that homes are selling fast; in fact, the “balanced market average” time a home spends on the market is 6th months, while it’s currently sitting at 2. Due to the insufficient quantity of homes on the market in the US, there is a rise in home prices, thus creating a seller’s market; this kind of market benefits homeowners taking advantage of their current circumstances and choosing to sell now.
★ Interest Rates After Covid: Expected to Rise After Pandemic-Level Lows
Due to the pandemic, mortgage interest rates had hit a record level low for the past couple of years. As the country and economy bounce back, so will these rates, starting to climb in 2022. However, rates are still low as compared to previous to the fall — but with no guarantee to stay low in the coming years.
“People will want to lock in a low rate now,”says Matthew Mackay, a licensed associate real estate broker and co-founder of the Mackay Dixon Team at real estate brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate in New York City.
In the height of this seller’s market, be prepared to take advantage of buyer demand and sell your home before this higher ground falls.
Summer
Typically, late spring and summer are considered the hottest times of the year to sell one’s home. Specifically now, with the uncertainty regarding a coming recession time, there becomes an urgency this season to sell, rather than wait and the market worsen. Some of the most compelling reasons that accelerate conditions of selling homes, especially in Georgia, include the warm weather, school holidays, and being more time in the day to host open houses, tours, etc. Additionally, for a majority of areas in metropolitan Atlanta and the suburbs, many families are looking to purchase and solidify their homes before the school year starts, and therefore can be more desperate with a deadline to make more serious offers and close deals more quickly and efficiently.
★ Home buying fervor tends to peak in June
In fact, the months May through August account for 40% of annual real estate sales volume, says NAR. Homes not only tend to sell faster, but also for more money in the summer months as compared to the rest of the year