Should I Sell Now?

This is the most common question I get asked, "Should we sell now or wait this out?" I've been telling people for the past 2 years and will continue to tell people for the foreseeable future;

" If you're planning on selling your home in the next 3 years, SELL NOW!"

I have had countless people in the past year especially tell me they're not selling now, they're going to wait 3 months, 6 months or a year. Home prices dropped at over 2% PER MONTH last year, which means if you were going to sell your $300,000 home in January and decided to wait until July, your home would have lost $36,000 in value.

Unfortunately, this isn't the type of the market where you can try to price it a little high and then lower your price, you will be constantly trying to catch the declining market and it will cost you thousands more than pricing it right from the beginning.

We are not at the bottom of this market yet either. Lending is still extremely tight, unemployment is on the rise and loans are resetting constantly which is causing more homes to go into default and flood the market. The biggest indicator for a turn in the market is the foreclosure market. Until foreclosures decline, the REO & short sale properties will continue to place a downword pressure on the market. In my opinnion, we can expect 2009 to be another down year. I do not believe we will see 20%+ drops like 2008, but I don't think a drop of 10%-12% is out of the question.

It's not all doom and gloom, there are buyers out there if the price is right, we're still selling multiple properties per month and rates are incredibly low. Long and the short of it is price your home right, and get your home on the market NOW if you're planning on selling.

With that said, selling now isn't the best option for everyone. The market will come back, it's just not going to be soon. If you bought your home with a 10 year plan in mind, then the value of your home right now doesn't mean anything. If you have a good loan or own your home free & clear, selling your home now just to go rent something is a horrible option for you.

There's not a one size fits all in ANY market. If you'd like to go over your options, please feel free to give us a call. We'll walk you through everything from a deed-in-lieu to renting to just waiting this out.

Please feel free to call or write if you would like comps for your neighborhood, and remember, you can always find $295 MLS listings at www.295List.com