Selling a home in 2017? Here’s what to expect

2016 was a pretty good year for most home sellers, but the fun isn’t over quite yet.  The 2017 predictions are in and if they are as accurate as the 2016 predictions, you ought to pay attention.  The boldest prediction for 2017 comes directly from Realtor.com who predicted the Phoenix market as the top performing real estate market in the country.  How about that!?

In 2016, Realtor.com predicted the top markets of 2016 would be Providence, Rhode Island and Warwick, Massachusetts.  Both areas rose more than 12% in 2016 eclipsing the national average of around 5%.  Needless to say, this is great news!

While this is a welcome prediction to anyone who currently owns property in the valley, there are certain things to consider if you plan to sell a property in 2017.  One of the biggest considerations for this year is timing, which can play a big role in both your pricing, and time spent on market.

There’s actually quite a few reasons to consider getting your property on the market NOW vs later in the year:

Low inventory – Low Inventory has been the case for the last several years, but that could soon change.  Many homeowners will be putting their homes on the market in spring, increasing inventory, which can curb demand.  The current lower inventory causes higher demand, and may result in a quicker sale.

Interest rate hikes – Immediately following the November 8^th presidential election, interest rates shot up from around 3.5% to about 4%. 2017 is predicted to continue that trend.  Experts agree we will see between 4.5-5% interest rates later this year.  As Buyers are starting to catch wind of this, they are feeling the pressure to buy earlier in the year to lock in the lower interest rates while they still can. Additionally, for entry level housing under $200k, there is the potential that the higher interest rates may cause payments to be too high for many would-be home buyers. This may effectively price a small group of buyers out of the market later this year.

Washington’s new head honcho – If we’ve learned anything from 2016, its ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN! Whether or not Trump’s changes are negative, positive, or otherwise we know there will be changes.  We can’t be surprised if major policy changes occur in Trumps first year in office that directly affect real estate regulation, lending guidelines, or tax codes.  More than likely, we won’t see any of these new policies into effect until the second half of the year, so now is an opportunity to avoid any potential new policy changes.

A Tip  for Homeowners:  Does the recent real estate market buzz have you wondering what your home value is? Do you want to know how much you could sell  your property for? NEVER rely on AVM Technology, such as Zillow’s Zestimate to price your home.  These automatically calculated models are wildly inaccurate.  They function off strictly of values of recent sales in the area with no consideration to the condition, upgrades, and a myriad of other variables in your home. It is a mediocre starting point, but not accurate. Studies show in most markets, the Zillow Zestimate is within 10%-12% of your actual value.  Having a pricing analysis done on your property is always completely free.  Contact me to have an analysis done and you may be pleasantly surprised how much your home is worth.

  Thinking about Selling?