Top Reasons to Sell Your House Now

Now is a Great Time To Move Up

Right now Northern Virginia is a sweet spot for sellers.  If you’ve been toying with the idea of selling your home, put away those toys and get serious!  Today’s market provides sellers with opportunities that may not come again in our lifetimes!

Today’s Market is a Sellers’ Market

Look around you. Our market is booming like nowhere else in the nation. The most recent Existing Home Sales Reports from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) show a double-digit percent increase in sales year-over-year; sales have remained above last year’s levels for more than 25 months.

The DC Metro Area is in better financial shape than the rest of the country and Northern Virginia is the area’s leader. Dr. Lawrence Yun, The Senior Economist at the National Association of Realtors,® recently said that our local economy’s projected annual growth rate is 3% — twice the projected national growth rate. David Versel of George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis predicts that in 2013-2017, 56% of the expected job growth in our region will be in Northern Virginia. As long as Northern Virginia leads the pack when it comes to jobs, people from all over the nation will flock here and they will need a place to live.

Today’s High Demand/Low Inventory Situation Cannot Last

Because of this high demand for housing in our area, available inventory is still low. This, combined with historically low interest rates creates buyers who are fiercely motivated. These buyers understand that they must make concessions to the seller if they want to succeed in negotiations. In addition to being motivated, these buyers are also super-qualified because lenders adopted very strict loan criteria that weeds out all but the most creditworthy. Low inventory also means there’s less competition from other sellers.

This “sellers’ market” cannot last.  Supply is already beginning to increase as builders that had either gone out of business or switched to apartment building during the crash resume single-family home construction. Another source of supply is homeowners who were previously under water. As prices have risen, they’ve been able to gain positive equity; many now are putting their homes on the market. To accelerate the national housing market’s recovery, banks have limited the number of foreclosed properties up for sale. Now that the recovery is well underway, we can expect that the banks will begin to market their huge inventories of foreclosed properties more aggressively.

If you wait too long to sell your home, you could find that the current situation has reversed itself and instead of buyers chasing sellers, you may find yourself chasing buyers.

Interest Rates are Bound to Go Up

The Fed has kept mortgage interest rates low to aid in the economic recovery. For a long time policymakers have said that the question is not whether interest rates will rise; but when. The Mortgage Bankers Association, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the National Association of Realtors all predict that rates will increase almost a full percentage point by next fall. Higher interest rates will reduce the number of potential buyers for your present home and make trading up to a better house more expensive for you. It all boils down to “buy now or pay more later.”

Home Values are Rising

Corelogic reports that home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 12.4 percent on a year-over-year basis in August 2013 compared to August 2012. This change represents the 18^th consecutive monthly year-over-year increase in home prices nationally. On a month-over-month basis, including distressed sales, home prices increased by 0.9 percent in August 2013 compared to July 2013.

Fall Versus Spring

Don’t be put off by the conventional wisdom that houses should only be sold in the spring. Fall and winter buyers tend to be more serious and motivated buyers. In our present situation, the threat of an imminent rise in interest rates combined with very low inventory has kept pressure on would-be buyers to lock into a deal as soon as possible.

Step Up to a Better Home

To take advantage of the amazing opportunities today’s real estate market offers you need an experienced Realtor® who can price your present house to sell and help you take that step up to the home of your dreams. Linton Hall Realtors® offers a guaranteed sales program and a trade up program that will give you the competitive edge in the market.  To learn more about these programs, visit www.LintonHallRealtors.comor call 703-485-4663.