When Should You List Your Home? Predictions for 2021 (and Beyond)

When should you list your home? I don't have a crystal ball (I wish I did!!) but we can make decent predictions on what the rest of 2021 will look like and possibly even what the next few years might look like. Here's some things to consider:

• The demand for homes to purchase right now is certainly extremely high. When looking at whether it is a Buyer's or Seller's Market, we look at it this way: If no other homes were to come onto the market, how long would it take to sell the entire current inventory? If it is more than 6 months, then it a buyer's market. If it is right around 6 months, the market is even. And when the number is less than six months, it is considered a seller's market. We are currently at just under one month in the Englewood, FL market!
• In a recent presentation by Keller Williams Founder Gary Keller, he showed us the trends and indicated that we are going up in prices faster than the market can sustain but at the same time there is a lack of new construction that will keep driving demand for existing homes. So in other words, this seller's market trend is likely to continue.
• Traditionally, the best times for listing properties in our area have been from Nov-May with a slight slow down in summer and fall. At this point with almost no inventory, we are not expecting to see that and listing anytime through summer should bring a good result.

• On April 1st,  Fannie Mae implemented new rules for 2nd homes and investors, limiting their purchase of those loans to 7%, which has been historically about 10%. This may put a damper on the number of investors and second home buyers that are able to purchase as the loan underwriting will become more restrictive.

• Additionally the Federal Reserve is talking about raising the interest rates to the 5-6% range. This is still a good rate as far as history goes but is nearly double what people have been experiencing lately. This will reduce the buying power of many purchasers. 
• Due to Covid, the moratorium on foreclosures is extended to September at this time, but they are just kicking the can down the road. We will have distressed sales when that moratorium is lifted. Most homeowners currently have equity, so we may not see a flood of short sales and foreclosures. But we will have people under pressure to catch up on months of late or no payments who decide to sell rather than lose their homes.

So what does that mean for deciding when to list your home? As far as listing now or in the next 3-5 years, I have to say the sooner the better. When we do have an adjustment or correction to the market, we usually have a 5-7 year recovery, though our last recovery took much longer as we had such a deep plunge. If you think you are ready to sell your home, please give us a call at 941-681-3420 so we can help!