Yes, the economy is in the midst of a bit of a crisis, and for obvious reasons. There is, however, one bright spot and that is the housing market which is why if you have been thinking about selling your home it is a good time to strongly consider it.
Traffic on a large real estate company’s website “… is up about 40 percent, and the National Association of Realtors announced that pending home sales are up 15 percent from last month,” according to NPR’s Stacey Vanek Smith and Cardiff Garcia.
A wide swath of American homebuyers is being propelled out of urban areas to suburbs and rural regions by “… conditions related to coronavirus, and the understanding that the way … that some of us work — has fundamentally changed,” Smith and Garcia wrote. For those who can work from home Woodland Hills, Calabasas and West Hills offer larger homes and larger lots than mid-city properties.
Then, there are others who dropped out of the market at the outset of the pandemic and have decided to re-enter.
If you’ve toyed with the idea of selling your home, now is the perfect time. Read on to learn why you should not let this opportunity pass you by.
Home equity at record highs
Do you have any idea how much equity you have in your home? Many homeowners haven’t a clue, but it’s worth finding out.
Mortgage data firm Black Knight found that “Americans’ home equity reached a record high earlier this year, according to Jeff Ostrowski, senior mortgage reporter for Bankrate.com.
With mortgage rates so low (see below) and your hefty equity, that dream home may just become a reality.
Mortgage rates are oh, so low
Mortgage rates are almost impossible to predict. However, according to a survey of major housing authorities such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Mortgage Bankers Association, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage will average around 3.03% through 2021. Rates are hovering below this level as of October 2020. If so the Sellers’ market will stay strong but don’t wait too long and miss your opportunity because you didn’t move fast enough.
Home prices are amazing for sellers
Those low mortgage rates are encouraging homebuyers to jump into the market. That, in turn, increases demand and, subsequently, home prices.
In September , the national median home price shot up 11.1% year over year, to hit a new all-time high of $350,000,” according to the most recent realtor.com® data. In the San Fernando Valley the median single family home sale price increased 17.7% from this time last year (Southland Regional Assoc of Realtors September Market Snapshot)
Homes are flying off the market
The average number of days a home remains on the market, nationwide, is 24 days. This is the first time in National Assoc of Realtor records that homes sold more quickly in September than August. This news is especially welcome for home sellers who need to move quickly.
If you are delinquent and don’t have forbearance, sell the home
If you don’t have a federally-backed mortgage, you didn’t qualify for mortgage forbearance under the federal Cares Act.
Many lenders of non-federally backed mortgages decided that they, too, would offer forbearance, but not all of them, and not on all loans.
If you didn’t qualify either way, and you’re delinquent on your mortgage, consider selling the home.
The sooner you do it, the less you will owe the lender at closing. If you wait, you’ll face foreclosure.
The real estate market has always been a moving target and that hasn’t changed. One day mortgage rates are down, the next day they rise. Likewise, nobody can predict the duration of what is currently an amazing seller’s market.
The time to sell your home, if you been considering doing so, is right now.
If you are considering selling your home and would like to know more please contact me especially, if you are over 55 and want to know about transferring your property tax basis
Janey Bishop, Broker (818)570-1144 [email protected]
Senior & Probate Certified Broker
View Empty Nest Downsizing Videos at https://janeybishop.video/Empty-Nest-Downsizing-Playlist
