If you’ve been thinking about listing your home, it might be time to stop waiting and start doing. Thanks to high buyer demand, low inventory, and low interest rates, selling this fall could be very profitable. In fact, there are quite a few advantages to listing sooner rather than later.
Selling This Fall Could Mean More Money in Your Pocket
When the stock market crashed earlier this year, many buyers and sellers opted to put their real estate goals on hold. Unsurprisingly, both sales and prices fell. However, while buyer demand has skyrocketed, largely thanks to rock-bottom low interest rates, sellers have not reciprocated by placing their homes on the market. The result is a strong sellers market that’s driving prices up.
Here are a few more reasons to consider selling this fall.
Buyer demand is high
In response to the economic collapse of early 2020, the Fed dropped interest rates to near-zero (they currently sit at just 0.25%). In response, mortgage interest rates plummeted to their lowest levels in history. And in response to that, buyers eagerly headed back out on the hunt.
In fact, leading market state service provider ShowingTime reported that buyer traffic has jumped 60.7% compared to this time last year. That’s a huge increase! This strong demand has led many buyers to enter bidding wars to compete for the same home—particularly in strong markets like Pittsburgh’s.
Inventory is low
Though buyers have been eager to take advantage of rock-bottom interest rates, sellers have been more hesitant to reenter the real estate game. As a result, the number of homes for sale has dropped drastically. The National Association of Realtors announced in their latest Existing Home Sales Report that inventory was down 18.6% from one year ago.
For you as a seller, this means that by listing now, you’ll face very little competition from other sellers. Low competition is ideal—buyers with fewer choices are often willing to pay more and close quickly.
The process is moving quickly
Because competition is so high, most buyers are doing everything they can to stand out from the crowd—like getting preapproved for a mortgage. Preapproval kickstarts the mortgage application process, so it can help the overall closing process move more much more quickly and efficiently. According to Ellie Mae’s latest Origination Insights Report, the time needed to close a loan is just 49 days.
It’s a great time to invest in a right-sized house
If you’ve been spending a lot more time at home lately, you might have realized that your current house doesn’t fit your needs quite as well as you’d like. Is it lacking an office or space for home workouts? Do you need a place for kids to study at home? Is the backyard too small? Whatever your reasons for needing something different, it’s a great time to list… and start looking.
Not only are interest rates the lowest they’ve ever been, but homebuilders are also back on the job, so you can choose the exact floorplan you need.
Selling This Fall? Let Us Help
If you’re ready to list your Pittsburgh home this fall, the Jim Dolanch Real Estate Team is here to help. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you get your home ready, price it accurately, and list it for top dollar.