Thinking about selling your Scottsdale luxury home or Cave Creek condo? No matter where you’re located in the surrounding area, it can be challenging to decide when the right time is to sell your property. Once you’ve found out how much your home is worth, you may be excited to cash in on any gains you’ve made. However, the sale price of your home often isn’t enough to help you make a decision.
In today’s home market, there are many solid reasons to list your property. If you are unsure whether you should sell your house, here are several reasons now is the right time to do so.
Home inventory shows signs of recovering
Through the beginning 2022, home inventory stagnated — especially compared to previous years. As a reminder, when inventory is low, buyers have fewer choices, making it more likely that they will select your property. This is especially true if your home is in exceptional condition.
However, summer 2022 saw home inventory rebound at a high clip, with active listings rising by about 30% in July. Currently, buyers have more options to choose from than in the past few years. Despite more competition on the seller side, the good news for sellers is that there is also more competition on the buyer side. In other words, current inventory is still unable to meet market demand. As a result, listing prices remain high, and homes are still selling fast relative to previous years.
If you are looking to sell your home quickly, this is a great time to list. In the not-so-distant future, home inventory may rebound fully. Once this happens, it will become more challenging for your property to get noticed. If new housing developments are being built in your immediate area (a nationwide trend that is expected to continue), you’ll have even more competition once the homes are ready.
Quick offers
Another great benefit of listing your home this year is the rapid response from potential buyers. In past years, it wasn’t uncommon to wait weeks, or even months, before receiving an offer for your home. With such a robust inventory of available properties, even the best houses could go unnoticed for an extended period of time.
This is no longer the case. According to the National Association of Realtors, the average home spent just 16 days on the market in August 2022. Homes selling for $100,000 to $250,000 lasted just 10 days, whereas home selling for $500,000 or more spent at least 15 days on the market. Luxury homes typically last slightly longer on the market because they are more significant investments.
Even as inventory catches up with demand, many residential property sellers are receiving excellent offers within hours of their listing going live online. If you’ve experienced the frustration of long waits for offers on a previous home sale, skip this common pain point by listing ASAP. Individuals planning an out-of-state move, or a relocation for a job in the coming months, can quickly sell their home without fear of delay.
Easy to get top-quality offers
In addition to receiving offers on your home within hours, proposed buying terms are better than ever before. Thanks to the continued competition among prospective buyers, home sellers remain in a position of power. This is especially true for luxury homes: while homes selling for less than $500,000 cratered in August, homes selling for more than $500,000 held most of their value.
What kind of offers can you expect to receive as a home seller in 2022? While specific terms will obviously vary, there are certain types of benefits that you can expect. Cash offers in particular have become more common than in any recent time.
Why is this the case? Individuals from high-end markets (such as California) have been selling their properties, and buying in relatively lower cost markets (such as Phoenix). This allows them the room in their budget to not only pay off their existing mortgage, but also to buy a new home without financing. To wit, the majority of homes sold in the American West this August were in the $250,000 to $750,000, at 33% and 31%, respectively.
Homeowners unsure of whether to sell now can list with confidence knowing that luxury homebuyers are looking to snap up well-priced homes. What’s more, if you’ve owned your luxury home for some time, you may have equity to leverage in negotiations.
Less hassle through closing
On top of the reduced time it takes to reach closing, home sellers are experiencing less overall hassle during the entire process. Because less is being asked by potential buyers, sellers are having to make fewer repairs and service appointments. During the moving process, finding even a few hours of extra time is super valuable. Those looking to avoid extra work to sell their home should absolutely consider selling this year.
Additionally, another big trend in home buying is foregoing an inspection. While this is not a particularly good idea on the buyer's part, this practice continues to happen due to the high market competition. This is most often proposed in all-cash offers. Finally, buyers are commonly refraining from asking the seller to pay for various costs (e.g. roof replacements, closing fees). If you are looking to reduce the time from listing your home to closing, all of these factors help achieve that goal.
Experts project home price to cool this fall and winter
The current market conditions — which still favor sellers, albet not as much as early 2022 — won’t last forever. Already, in August 2022, the selling prices of homes valued at less than $500,000 have sunk by over 30% in the West. It could be a matter of time before the trend catches up to the luxury real estate market.
However, waiting too long could lead you to settle for less than your home is now worth. An estimated 65% of homes in over 400 metropolitan locales are currently estimated to be overvalued. While many experts think that home prices will rebound in 2023, these predictions can change swiftly. Individuals looking to earn what their home is valued at currently should not wait a prolonged amount of time to sell.
Instead of resisting or being anxious about the process, work with a team of real estate experts from day one. Having knowledgeable people to help you navigate each end of the process will ensure that you get the best deal as both a buyer and as a seller.
If you are still unsure, enlist the help of an experienced team
Still undecided as to whether you should sell your house this year? No worries. Whether selling or buying, Kerri Schrand and The Schrand Team are here to assist you in whatever way they can. Day and night, we’re devoted to providing you with the best client support in the entire Scottsdale and Metro Phoenix area. We know what it takes to get you the best offer, as well as how to make a wise offer on your new residential property. Call us today at (602) 390-4221 to get started.