“Is now a good time to buy or sell, or should I wait?”

I get asked this a lot.

My reply is that while there might be times that are statistically slightly better or worse to buy or sell, the timing has more to do with you than the market. I secretly think it is us Realtors who came up with the whole timing the market thing. Ever notice we always have a good reason for right this minute being your best time to buy or sell? Prices could go up, buy now! Rates could go up, buy now! Rates dropped an eighth of a point, buy now! There will be fewer houses on the market in winter to compete with, sell now! More buyers are out in the spring and summer, sell now!

Is there something in your life making it a good time for you to buy or sell? Maybe you are getting married, got a job in a new town, getting divorced, having a child or any personal reason for a move? Then the time for you is now.

Another reason is when the perfect house hits the market.

No two houses are totally identical. Sure, some new ones can be extremely similar, buy even they are not 100% the same. I recently had a friend and his wife find a house for sale on a street they have always dreamed about. We viewed the house. They fell in love. An offer was made and accepted. The time was right because they wanted it and it was suddenly available. Who knows when the next one on that street, which only has 30 homes, would be available?

Sometimes you have no control over the timing.

I recently had a similar experience but with car buying. I am really into older BMWs. A friend of mine had a 1987 BMW 535i that had been in his family since new. It was bought locally and has been in Lexington ever since. It has been maintained by a shop owned by a friend. A family friend was the sales manager at the dealership and I have a document signed in 1987 by him in the glovebox. I had always drooled over this car since it was in really good cosmetic condition. There are few left that are as nice as this one.

My friend called me up one day out of the blue saying it was time to sell it. He asked if I was in the market. I told him I was not actively looking, but I was in the market NOW since the right car presented itself to me. He knew the time was right for him. I knew the time was right for me. He did not wonder if he could have gotten more by waiting. I did not entertain the thought of waiting for the next one.

You are in the center of your real estate decisions. Do what is best for your needs and don’t worry about it…..and according to us Realtors, now is always a good time, LOL!