Dear Claire: Why is Now a Good Time to Sell My Home?

Embracing the Charm of Spring: The Ideal Season for Home Buying

You don’t have to be in the market to buy a house right now in the springtime to know that now is a great time to sell. There are several things that have sort of conglomerated to create an amazing seller’s market right now.

So, what is that? It’s spring! Spring is amazing and fantastic, and everyone loves spring in Portland. The trees are in bloom, we have late nights, there’s sunshine and it’s going to be 70 degrees this week. I know, all of that is given, but it does make a really big difference because going after work to go see your prospective new house at 5 and it’s dark outside and it’s raining, it’s really hard to imagine your life there. Whereas, when it’s sunny and beautiful and all the trees and everything is blooming, it makes it a lot easier to figure out what it’s going to be like and what you’re going to do about it. So, there’s that seasonality for sure.

Most if you, if you can imagine a standard bell curve, most houses are sold between March, April, May, June, July, August, September, and then once the kids go back to school, typically inventory, and buyers, fall off. Now, of course, we’re not in a normal market. So, that’s a little different right now. We still have very little inventory compared to other years, and frankly, even last year.

If you’re thinking about selling now it’s a fantastic time. So, what’s making that the case are people that are moving up. If you bought a house and you’re both working from home, it’s making things a little tight and people are talking about this, but I think there is going to be a problem — a COVID pandemic, baby boom. I have a bunch of clients and friends that are having kids unexpectedly. That’s also getting people to want to move up into a better house, not necessarily better but bigger and then there’s just interest rates which are really good right now still. So that’s also helping people realize that “Oh, I could definitely afford a house in a way that I couldn’t before.”

I find it fascinating and it’s like going on a diet or going on a budget. Nobody wants to do it, nobody’s really very good at it, but when you’re forced to not travel, not go out to eat, and not go out to bars, I mean, when Amazon is the only thing you can spend money on, it’s amazing how much money you can save. So, I’ve had plenty of conversations lately with people who, you know, they took a year off of spending and, oh, wow, look, they saved the down payment for an entire house purchase, which is fantastic. I mean, it’s not something we would have wished for ourselves, but there are some unexpected upsides.

What else is there as far as buying a home in springtime? I mean, you know how great this time of year is – it’s magical, but some of the things people don’t realize to is that sunny outside at 8:00 p.m. So, we can look at a house much later then you know, when it gets dark at 4:30 p.m., which is not nearly as fun.

Of course, if you have any questions about this, I am happy to answer them. Reach out to me and if you’re just dying for more information or if you have any questions you want me to answer, and go check out our Paris Group Realty, LLC YouTube channel. We’ve got all kinds of fun stuff over there. See you soon. Take care.

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