The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected every industry in America, and real estate is no exception to that. If you were planning on selling your house this year, you might be wondering if you should still go through with it, given everything that’s going on (like, you know, a national crisis).
Only you can make the final call, but we’re here to help by giving you the information you need to decide whether you should try to sell your house now.
Coronavirus has, unsurprisingly, had a notable impact on the housing market. As of mid-March, 48% of real estate agents surveyed had seen a decrease in buyer interest compared to 2019 data. The number of homes for sale had also declined by 15.7%. This indicates that potential buyers and potential sellers are generally more reluctant.
However, as one real estate agent points out, the housing market shifts much slower than something like, say, the stock market. Things don’t change too much on a day-to-day basis. That means there’s still time for you to act before the housing market—and your home’s value—is more significantly affected by the imminent recession.
There are several circumstances we’ll go over in which you should consider going forward with your listing:
As the economy worsens, some kinds of houses will be easier to sell than others. You might have better chances of selling a house if it is any of these things:
Mortgage rates have been low for the past few months and are projected to stay that way going forward—the average mortgage rate was 3.33% as of April 23, according to Freddie Mac. (The 50-year low was 3.29% on March 5, 2020, for reference.)
This is good news for you if you want to sell your house, because any potential buyers should have an easier time getting a mortgage they can afford. In addition, the decreased demand should allow lenders to respond to loan requests faster.
If you know you’ll need to sell your house sometime in the next one to two years for any reason, you should consider selling soon before the full brunt of the recession hits the housing market. Deciding to wait and sell six months down the line could negatively affect how much you can get for your house, and that may be a risk you don’t want to take.
Though selling now might work for many people, there are others who should hold off on selling their home. You might be in this latter group if you:
If you have serious concerns about your health or the health of a loved one, you may want to forgo selling your house for now, if possible. Many steps in the house-selling process can be completed virtually, but most buyers will still want to see your house in person, and this could mean exposure to individuals outside your home that you’re not comfortable having exposure to.
You and your agent can, of course, take precautions and disinfect everything before and after a showing, but that may not be enough to reassure you, especially if someone in your household is considered high risk. Keep this in mind when you are deciding whether to sell your house.
You might be recently unemployed, you might be furloughed for who-knows-how-long or you might be worried about taking a pay cut—whatever the reason if you’re worried about making future payments, it’s probably for the best that you wait to sell your house and buy another. If you can, wait until your income is more dependable, and in the meantime, work with your lender to make sure you can stay in the house you currently live in.
In general, if you aren’t being forced to sell by an external factor, such as financial problems or relocation for a job, it might be worth putting off your home sale. Selling a home is a lot of work, and it can be an overwhelming project for anyone to take on even when a pandemic isn’t happening.
You can save your mental and emotional energy—as well as your money—and plan on selling your house when it works better for you.
If you’ve decided that now could be a good time to sell your house, keep these five things in mind:
Anyone who tries to sell a house during the pandemic will face unique problems, but it’s certainly still doable, so don’t be discouraged if you need to sell your house now. Review your finances, decide what your priorities are and get professional help when you can—or decide to wait! Whatever works best for you.
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