Is now a good time to buy a home, sell a home, or both?

I get this question a lot and at all times of the year. It's a difficult question because there are so many variables affecting this rather huge decision, many of them personal and only some controllable. My advice to focus on the controllable and set aside the rest, such as where interest rates will be in 6-12 months. Many would be buyers that have been waiting for rates to go down this past year are now kicking themsleves because rates didn't go down and prices went up. FYI, I recently published a numbers crunch showing that even if rates do go down, it's a money-losing game to wait to buy.

Those lower rates never materialized but if and when they do, prices will surely go up (even more). When we saw a dip in rates a few months ago, mortgage applications and new contracts shot up. It's safe to assume that when rates do go down, pent up demand will skyrocket which will drive home values up. Yesteday in Fortune Magazine Barbara Corcoran was quoted as saying that when rates go down buyers waiting on the sidelines will jump in and "housing prices will go up all over again".

When will rates go down? We don't know.

So instead let's focus on where the current market is. In most of our local markets it's a sellers' market with low inventory but still a friendlier market for buyers than in the past few years. 

My advice for buyers and sellers is to stick with what you know and to examine what's motivating you. Usually it's better to prioritize your personal needs around space, location, timing and budget than to try to time the market. A tip for buyers is to look for opportunities in listings that are pushing 30 days on market which will give you additional negotiating leverage. For sellers, the most important strategy for success in this or any market and season is to make your home what I call an "A+" listing which means move-in ready, clean, painted, staged, accurately priced and properly marketed. The A+ listings at every price point are the ones that are consistently selling quickly and for top dollar.