When should I sell my home?

If you are asking that question, I might guess that you have already decided you are planning to sell your home and you wish to maximize your sales price with good timing. You are likely also hoping for a predictable and manageable experience; an absence of surprises! Well, you’re going to need a good conductor!

The “When” of selling involves your particular situation- kids left home? Desire for more land or space? Etc…  and how that meshes with the seasonal changes in the real estate sales cycle. Indeed there are seasonal cycles within any given local marketplace. A quick analysis of single family sales here in Burlington, MA over ten years time reveals the reliable spring market uptick in sales prices for sellers, beginning as early as April. The slower parts of the cycle naturally occur with the onset of late fall and winter, concurrent with Thanksgiving and the Christmas holidays. Beginning in March of 2020 however, COVID has interrupted the normal seasonal trend. A significant delay of sales occurred in the early months of the pandemic, March through June. But the “need to move” never dies, it only gets delayed.

I witnessed this first hand when EXIT Premier was a brand new company in the months following 9/11. Buyers stopped making offers on the available inventory for a number of months as we felt the collective shock of what had happened. It was not until our country had instigated its response to the attacks a few months later, that buyer confidence returned. I remember writing offers at my office on Christmas eve day.

Then, like now, as the temporary paralysis around COVID subsided, the “need to buy” returned with even more force. In July of 2020, with masks prevalent and long lines outside open houses, the rebound in the housing market was on display. Many couples eager to upgrade their living standards and many first time buyers proved to be more than happy to enter into the joys and commitments of home ownership! The last half of 2020 and all of 2021 have seen fierce competition from buyers on every listing that has come to the market. Prices have soared up to 15% in Burlington alone, year over year.

So, back to when should I sell my home? Well, if you know where you want to go next and if you know why that is important to you, and if your finances will afford you the luxury of that move, then “Now” is a particularly great time to Sell. Given that you’re quite clear that you actually want to make this move in your life, the big question becomes, “How do we get from here to there?”

And that opens us up to the true value that Realtors offer the community.  When we list your house to sell, we stand at the center of a network of professionals who will collaborate together over the coming weeks and months to see this process through a successful conclusion. The best agents coordinate a network of valued partners whose services are integral to your ultimate happiness with the process. We are talking everybody from painters, house cleaners, photographers, landscapers, and of course, competing real estate agents who are buyer specialists, attorney’s, mortgage professionals, appraisers, and frankly… more.

The best of the best real estate agents are the “Keith Lockhart’s, the John Williams and the Arthur Fiedler’s” of the world, orchestrating the timing and the coordination of all these necessary instruments of a successful real estate move. And that is exactly what we do best for our clients at EXIT Premier Real Estate. For twenty years we have proven again and again our value to our communities. We are here to serve you.

And so, for the last time, “When should I sell my home?” The only essential answer to that question can be, “When you want to!” And at that time, we’ll be here to help, from our home base in Burlington, MA and with agents living in and serving both the north and the south shore of Boston.   Thank you for your twenty years of trust in us!

Greater Boston MA Real Estate -- Mark Bettinson, Broker, Owner, REALTOR® with EXIT Premier Real Estate. We specialize in Burlington, Billerica, Woburn, and surrounding communities. Take the Stress our of your next Move. (781) 270-4770 or (617) 308 4289