The Best Time to Sell is When Others Aren't

If you’re thinking about selling your house, you should know that the number of homes for sale right now is low.

Looking back at every April since 2017, the only year when fewer sellers listed their homes was in April 2020. That’s when the pandemic hit and stalled the housing market (shown in red in the graph below). In more typical years, roughly 500,000 sellers nationally add their homes to the market in April. This year, we saw fewer than 400,000 sellers entering the market in April (see graph below):

On Cape Cod, inventory stood at 394 homes at the end of April. One year ago, it was 364.

April 2017?

2,017 houses.

While there are a number of factors contributing to this, one thing keeping inventory low right now is that some homeowners are reluctant to move because the mortgage rate they have on their current house is lower than the one they could get today on their next house. It’s called rate lock.

As a recent survey from Realtor.com explains, 56% of people who are planning to sell in the next 12 months say they’re waiting for rates to come down.

It’s important to keep current mortgage rates in perspective. The record breaking low rates we saw during the pandemic were once in a lifetime. Current rates – which hover around 6% – would be considered historically low at any other time.

(And if you didn’t live it, you have no doubt heard the stories from those of us who bought our first house when rates were 14%.)

If your current house truly doesn’t fit your needs anymore and you’re ready to move, don’t miss this chance to stand out. When fewer sellers are putting their homes up for sale, buyers will have fewer options, so you set yourself up to get the most eyes possible on your house. That’s why your house could see multiple offers as buyers compete over the limited supply of homes for sale – especially if you price it right.

Bottom Line

While a wait-and-see approach may be right for some sellers, it also creates an opening for more eager sellers to jump in right now.

If you’re ready to market your home, you can beat the competition before it comes into the market. If you do, your house should stand out and could get multiple offers.

Let’s connect at 508-360-5664 or [email protected] to discuss your options. Talk soon…

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We were very excited to present the first annual Mari Sennott Plus/Today Real Estate scholarship at Friday night’s Southport Scholarship Awards Banquet. Southport’s Scholarship Committee raised over $35,000.00 for graduating Mashpee High School seniors. Our scholarship award recipient, Caitlin Signi, will be attending UMass-Boston.

We moved to Southport on Cape a year ago and the Scholarship Committee is just one of a large number of activities that residents can be involved in.