Buy First or Sell First When Moving Homes?

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A frequent question clients ask me all the time is should you buy first or should you sell first?

The answer is it depends on the real estate market.

When you’re in a seller’s market … it’s always a safer choice to buy first.

It’s called a seller’s market because sellers are usually more in control of the process than buyers.

In a seller’s market the demand of buyers exceeds the supply of sellers.

This means, not only is there a more limited choice of houses or condos for you to go look at, but ultimately when you do find the perfect property and want to make an offer, if the property shows really well and is priced properly, there likely could be multiple offers or what they call a bidding war.

So, even if you do have a generous budget and some financial wiggle room to  increase your budget, there’s still no guarantee the sellers you make an offer to are going to accept your offer over another competing offer.

You really don’t have control over when you will find the perfect property and when your offer will ultimately be accepted.

But once you do find the perfect home and your offer is accepted, if it’s still a seller’s market then, as long as you hire a really good Realtor and your home is staged well and priced properly, it will likely sell in a reasonable amount of time.

On the other hand if the market is a buyer’s market then it’s always safer to sell first.

It’s called a buyer’s market because buyers are usually more in control of the process than sellers.

In a buyer’s market the supply of property to choose from exceeds the number of listings of homes that buyers are looking at.

When buyers have multiple properties that meet their criteria to choose from then they can make a lower offer on your listing.

If you don’t accept it and they aren’t willing to come up to your price then they’re not likely willing to keep increasing their offer.

They can simply just go make an offer on one of several other properties that meet their criteria.

Which means you don’t know when or how long it might take for you to sell your property.

But once it is sold there is still a huge selection of properties for you to choose from for your next home.

So in a buyer’s market you are likely to find a great property within a reasonable amount of time and buy it at a price within your budget.

And of course there is something called a balanced market.

In a balanced market where supply and demand are more or less balanced or equal then, whether or not you should buy first or sell first depends on many factors that you should discuss with your Realtor.

Some of those factors include your budget, mortgage portability, mortgage penalties, why you’re moving, where you’re moving to, and whether your timing is carved in stone, such as due to job relocation or possibly more flexible.

If you want to know more about market timing & strategy you can email or call me any time. 

If you are thinking of buying or selling a home and want to talk more about how to do it safely and smoothly, I’m always happy to chat.  Just get in touch with me by email or phone.
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