If you have been sitting on the fence about selling your home, or think you should wait until Spring to sell your home. It's time to jump off the fence, now is the time. "2017 is shaping up to be the year of the home sellers", says real estate experts.
"Sellers have been in the driver's seat for the last two years, but this year is shaping up to be even better for several reasons" says Jonathan Smoke, the chief economist of Realtor.com.
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Here is what is driving such a hot sellers market in the Twin Cities.
1. Inventory Shortage
This is the classic supply and demand effect. When inventory shrinks, available homes become more valuable, and that's a great thing for sellers.
To put it into perspective, in July of 2007 the Twin Cities hit a peak of 35,906 homes for sale, and as of January 2017 there were only 8,212 homes for sale. Down 25% from January of 2016, and down over 77% since the peak before the financial crisis.
Smoke says, "Quite simply, sellers this year have the least competition".
Not only are their fewer homes on the market, but those homes are spending a shorter amount of time on the market, which has always been a top worry for sellers. Twin Cities median days on market showed a decrease of 19.5% since this time last year.
Smoke also says, "Many potential sellers don't want to think about having to prep a home for showings and deal with an indefinite period of having to keep things in perfect shape. Fast moving inventory limits that pain."
2. Mortgage Rates are Still Low
Low rates, means lower monthly payments which brings out buyers, another positive for sellers.
Mortgage rates have been on the rise since this past October and experts are predicting rising rates throughout 2017. Experts predict mortgage rates to rise close to 5% by the end of the year. Another reason to sell sooner than later, so you can also capitalize on the low rates.
Others have predicted that if rates do go above 5%, home values will come down.
3. Home Prices are on the Rise
With such low inventory and a buyer demand that is outpacing current inventory, we are seeing home prices increase. In the Twin Cities the Median Home Price has risen to $232,900 a 5.9% increase since this time last year.
"Higher prices particularly benefit the sellers whose property value plunged during the recession, sometimes to less than they owed. Thanks to steady rising prices over the past few years, many homeowners who were underwater can now sell without suffering a big loss.
If you're wondering what your home is worth today, Call 763-331-4775/email Scott.Swennes@results.net or Click Here, for your free home value evaluation!
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