Is It Too Late to Sell My Home In 2022?

As 2022 enters the final couple of months, you may be wondering about making your move now to sell a home. "Can I still sell my home?" "Should I sell in 2022 or wait until the spring market of 2023?"

In every situation, this is a personal decision. If now is the right time for you and your family to move, there's no reason not to enter the market by listing. Many sellers find that selling at the end of the year puts them in front of more serious home buyers than during the Spring and Summer months.

Let's take a closer look at the market and overall conditions to get a better idea if now is the right time to sell.

Mortgage Rates Could Impact Buyers

Home buyers often need the lowest interest rate possible to make the purchase of a home more affordable. There is evidence that interest rates are a big factor. Banks will likely continue to make changes to interest rates charged to home buyers.

What does that mean for today's home seller? Monitor mortgage rates both for yourself, if you plan to buy a home now, and from the point of the buyer. Depending on your home sales price, it may take a bit longer to sell a home if interest rates climb much more. 

What to Expect If You Sell in 2022

Many experts believe that the second half of 2022 has shown more of a return to the normal of pre-pandemic periods. We are seeing home prices dip from their peak earlier this year.

Price Peaks

Selling now could be important if you want to get the best price for your home. There has been some indication that home prices are already slowing their rapid increase. In some areas, price reductions are hitting home listings, which could mean overpricing a home to get higher bids is no longer ideal.

Listing Competition

As we enter the normal downward cycle of the real estate market at the end of the year, not as many people choose to list their homes. Many people choose to list in the spring and summer months when the most amount of potential buyers are moving. This means less competition for those wanting to list and sell their homes in the Fall and Winter months, leading to a potential faster sale at a higher value if you sell in 2022. 

The Unknown of 2023

So, should I sell my home in 2023? Some people may feel the desire to put off their home’s sale until next year. Doing so could be met with more uncertainty, though.

Inflation could become an ongoing factor, as could a recession. That could mean a drop in home prices in the coming months to years. While there is some predictability in what is likely to happen in 2022, there are a lot of unknowns about what could happen by next year.

A key factor is home affordability. A 30-year, fixed rate mortgage on a median-priced home today has a $2,000 a month payment. That’s a 53% jump from just a year ago, according to Realtor.com. That's a significant increase, and wages are not growing at nearly that rate. The result is that homes are becoming less accessible to many people, and that could become more obvious in the real estate market during the first portion of 2023, if not sooner.

What’s It All Mean to You?

As a homeowner hoping to sell, there are a few things to consider. First, the real estate market is calming, returning to more “normal” conditions as it was prior to the pandemic. That’s a good thing overall for sellers who price their homes right and don’t anticipate huge bidding wars. Housing availability is still low, which means selling your home in 2022 could mean getting somewhat of a boost in value if you are in a competitive market.

Overall, your best bet is to have a comparative market analysis created to see what is going on in your specific market. That's going to give you a far better perspective of what's to come. For many property owners, there's no benefit to putting off the sale of your home right now. Instead, it's a good idea to take advantage of the current conditions.