Timing the Market

The real estate market is largely a numbers game. How much to list, how much to offer, down payments, closing costs, and on and on. But aside from the math, the mark of a successful home buying or selling transaction is timing. For a long, long time, the pendulum of timing has largely swung to the sellers. People are starting to wonder… if we’re going to sell, should we do it now before the bubble bursts? 

In a word… 

Yes. 

To find the answer to this almost impossible question, CNN took to the experts. Senior economist for real estate giant Zillow, Jeff Tucker, was interviewed. “It is likely the pace of price appreciation will peak some time this quarter, either in April, May or June,” said Tucker. “That will be the high water mark for annual pace of appreciation, then it will decelerate.”

Interest rates are already back up over 5% after rising more sharply than they ever have before. Higher interest rates mean it’s more expensive to finance homes, especially ones that are already seeing record high list prices. 

While record list prices may spell good news for the seller, higher interest rates means buyers just aren’t showing up. To that point, the number of homes sold per month dipped a bit in April. Furthermore, you always have to have somewhere to live. So if you capitalize on the market now to sell your house for top dollar, you still have to turn around and either buy again or rent. 

If the goal is a huge windfall of cash and you don’t necessarily care where you end up, then perhaps consider selling. If you still want your dream house at the end of it all, then patience is probably the key.