It Might Be Time to Sell Your Home — What the Market Is Trying to Tell You

For the first time since the economic downturn, the housing market is showing consistent, stabile signs of recovery. With home sales and profit margins increasing, this summer is the right time to finally put your home up for sale.

Home prices are soaring in Arkansas, and bidding wars for the best properties are once again becoming commonplace across the country. You may be wondering if now is finally the time to sell your property and take advantage of the improving housing market. Ferstl Valuation Services, an Arkansas appraisal firm, takes a look at the ways in which the market may be telling you to sell now.

The Housing Market in 2014

With the housing market finally showing true signs of recovery, it’s becoming clear that this may be the year to sell your home. 2013 alone saw a 10% nationwide surge in home sales, creating a seller’s market as a result of limited inventory and rising home and mortgage prices. So far, 2014 has seen a more steady increase in sales, with Arkansas enjoying an 8.2% gain compared to the same time last year.

What’s more, the market has maintained a great deal of month-to-month stability, which indicates that these numbers are due for a summer surge. Summer is always the hottest season for home buying, as buyers are reluctant to move in poor weather and often cannot take time away from work or family obligations at any other time of the year. For these reasons, this is the best time to have an Arkansas residential appraiser determine the price you can expect from a sale this summer.

Is It Time To Sell?

There are several identifiable factors to evaluate that signify the best times to sell a home. Some are well-known, such as declining interest rates and increasing median home price. However, some important indicators are not as obvious:

• Recovering Job Market: Unemployment in Arkansas has trended downward from a high of 11% in 2010, to a new low of 5% in some areas. This is a signal that you should consider selling your house, as buyers are more likely to be looking to purchase a new home as they acquire new jobs.
• Disappearing “For Sale” Signs: Some may think that an abundance of “For Sale” signs point to a healthy housing market, but they can actually suggest stagnation. Sellers often put up the sign as a last resort, after the home has lingered on the market for too long. A lack of signs shows that homes are selling as quickly as they are listed.
• Qualifying Buyers Entering the Market: This is perhaps the most important indicator of whether you will be able to sell your home at the price you want. The National Association of Realtor’s Housing Affordability Index is a way to determine the percentage of buyers in a given market who can actually afford to buy a home.
• Hiring Increases at Real Estate Companies: If you notice a great deal of advertisements for real estate agents, it shows that realty companies are expanding to meet the demand of a hot market. This is good news for homeowners looking to make a profit.

As these indicators are revealing themselves in the Arkansas housing market, the time to sell your home may be now. The first step in selling your home is to understand its market value, which will be affected by its size and features as well as the neighborhood demographic and regional economic conditions. Get started today and contact an Arkansas residential appraiser at Ferstl Valuation Services for a detailed home appraisal.