🎸 Believe it or not, Tom Petty has some great real estate advice for anyone thinking of selling their home. 🏡
Transcript:
I doubt Tom Petty had real estate on his mind when he sang “the waiting is the hardest part”, but the message certainly applies. I’m Eric with Eric Andersen Homes, and conventional wisdom suggests it may be best to wait until the spring to sell when the market is flooded with buyers, but conventional wisdom often yields conventional results.
If you’re eager to move, I’ll tell you why waiting may not only be difficult, but detrimental. The economy’s strong right now. Wages are rising, unemployment is near record lows, and so are mortgage interest rates. What’s more, the housing market has stabilized over the past 10+ years. The biggest challenge in the housing market today is the lack of inventory.
According to the Existing Home Sales Report by the National Association of Realtors, “Total housing inventory at the end of September sat at 1.83 million, approximately equal to the amount of existing-homes available for sale in August, but a 2.7% decrease from 1.88 million one year ago. Unsold inventory is at a 4.1-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 4.0 months in August and down from the 4.4-month figure recorded in September 2018.”
 While more homes are still coming on the market, they aren’t coming quickly enough. Most Chicagoland markets have less than 4 months’ inventory of homes, which is what we call a seller’s market. There are more buyers than homes for sale. A balanced market is when we have 5-6 months’ supply, and the last time we had a 6-month supply was in August, 2012.
 This inventory challenge makes now a great time to sell. If you wait until the spring, there will be more homes for sale, which means more competition, and interest rates may be higher, which diminishes everyone’s purchasing power. Buyers get more for their money and can afford larger, nicer homes when rates are lower. Plus, those looking to buy at this time of year tend to be serious.
So if you’re thinking of selling, the high demand, low inventory, and low rates could make now the perfect time to make a move. Contact me today if you’d like more information on your home’s value or the local market in your area. I’m Eric with Eric Andersen Homes, your Chicagoland Real Estate Expert.