When is the Best time to Sell a House?
– If you are considering selling a house in Las Vegas, Henderson, or North Las Vegas, Call The Ballen Group of Keller Williams Las Vegas at 702-482-7739 or use our home value estimator now.
Home is where you lay your hat, but you may one day find that your hat doesn’t belong there anymore.
If It’s Got to Go, It’s Got to Go
You may find there isn’t enough room to swing a cat, let alone nurse a new baby, or that you’ve no use for the empty rooms your children vacated decades ago. Maybe you and your better half have gone your separate ways and the house simply needs to go, you’re trying to give your dog a more spacious yard to romp, or you need to take in some elderly relatives and the staircase won’t do. Perhaps you have greater professional opportunities if you move elsewhere.
It can be hard to cope with the upheaval of moving house. Moving home is one in a long line of lifestyle changes that the entire family must endure; however green the grass is on the either side of the ‘For Sale’ sign. Even if you’re not looking to relocate, but simply to dispose of extra property, and if children, pets and elderly relatives aren’t involved, you still have plenty to worry about, whatever the market.
Plenty More Where That Came From
These changes occur more often than we’d like to admit, but sad as it may be to leave a home behind; a new one will be right around the corner. There’s no shortage of white picket fence houses out there, and there’s no reason not to expect Lady Luck to smile on you when you strike your bargain.
Of the nearly 116 million homes built in the USA, according to the United States Census Bureau’s American Housing Survey, there’s bound to be one to your liking. And with the sale of homes picking up this year, you’re looking at a much nicer picture and an infinitely larger return for the house you’re leaving behind than you would have been able to expect six years ago.
What Goes Up Must Come Down
That said, the fluctuations on the market may be giving you the nagging feeling that you need to be constantly looking over your shoulder in case you miss any local or national real estate trends. And your apprehension would be justified if the events of 2008 are anything to go by.
Your decision to move out may or may not be in sync with market trends, or with your better half’s opinion, for that matter. It’s safe to assume that the state of the economy is reflected in the property market, and having a wider perspective could help you anticipate the outcome of your decision, pin-point the best time to act and find closure with the way things pan out. Still, deep down, you’re probably aware, like so many of us, that you’re grasping at straws. There’s no point trying to predict what the market will be like ten years from now. You’d just as soon find your answers in a crystal ball than by analyzing real estate statistics for the best time to sell a house.
The Gift that Keeps on Giving
Few fixed assets can provide higher returns than a house. Recent global economic developments aside, houses are and always will be the most sought-after asset known to man, because they cover our most basic need, that of having shelter. Come rain or shine, there will always be a demand for housing.
There’s really no best time of year to sell a house, because you’re likely to make a profit on it whatever happens. Even if you don’t try hard to pass it off as the perfect home, you should expect at least a 10% year-on-year rise in market value, provided it’s in a nice area, it was built using high-quality construction materials and you’ve owned it for at least a couple of years. If prices are low, your loss on the sale of the old house will be compensated by the fact that your new abode will be cheaper than expected. If prices are up, you’ll cash in more, and you’ll pay more for the new home, but you’ll also possibly pay more tax.
Even so, it’s good to keep in mind that real estate inventory usually goes up after the holiday season, with people flocking to put their houses up for sale as soon as the eggnog’s done, in January, or the stores start stocking new Christmas merchandise, which can be as early as September. It’s safe to say that spring and autumn are the best seasons to buy a new home, with so many new ones being put up for sale every day.
On the other end of the spectrum, buyers who are urgently looking for houses during the festive seasons will likely see that real estate inventory is pretty low, and so they’ll be eager to strike a deal, even if the prices are a bit steep. Therefore, winter and summer are the best time of year to put the house up for sale.
However, the appeal of a house that’s up for sale depends not only on the asking price, but also on the Las Vegas Real Estate market itself, the size of our cities inventory, our amenities, the infrastructure prospects for the area, the type of governing, the community budget, and many more aspects that tend to do more with community development than with the house itself.
As long as you do your best to show off your house’s most prized features, you should be able to secure your asking price. In fact, going overboard with your spending on renovating and sprucing up the appliances, fixtures and fittings can be a double-edged sword. Prospective buyers like to put their own stamp on their newly-acquired nests, and your interfering with their blank canvas can put them off.
Eyes on the Prize
In reality, you don’t need to worry much about when you should sell your house. The sooner you put it up for sale, the better. That way, you have plenty of time to sieve through the offers and to try to improve your listing. You simply need to make sure that you’ve done everything in your power to make the house attractive, within a reasonable budget, by the time you list the offer.
If the property is not appealing, the time of year is of little consequence. To make a property appealing, you need to ensure that it meets the needs of the people currently trying to move into the area. Condominiums may sell quicker than a waterfront estate and may bring potential buyers at any time of year, whereas a waterfront estate is a much more substantial investment, with fewer but often more serious buyers. Just because you have the most gorgeous property on the Las Vegas real estate market doesn’t mean prospective buyers will fall in love with it at first sight. Speak to an unbiased real-estate agent, if you know one, and try to find out what this year’s new generation of buyers is looking for in a property. Look into the categories of buyers typically choosing a house like yours. Then, look at your home from the perspective of a certain type of buyer and see what your property is lacking, and what it can offer as a bonus.
The White Picket Fence
Finally, don’t let all this planning and upheaval get the best of you. Buying and selling property in Las Vegas is as much a matter of chance as it is a matter of careful planning. Do your best to offer a house others can wholeheartedly call home and don’t put off making the offer public. Know what you’re looking for in a new home (if you’re looking for one), and make sure your goal is always within reach. Then sit back and let the market take its course.
– If you are considering selling a house in Las Vegas, Henderson, or North Las Vegas, Call The Ballen Group of Keller Williams Las Vegas at 702-482-7739 or use our home value estimator now.
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