6 Reasons Why 2019 is the Year to Sell Your Home

Posted by Tonny Rossi on March 14th, 2019

While having a home is necessary for survival, it is also important to recognize that your home is one of the largest investments that you will make in your lifetime. In order to make sure your preserve and maximize your wealth to the greatest extent you possibly can, it will be necessary to view your home purchase as an active investor.

As is the case with all major investments, maximizing the value of your home will involve carefully timing the market. When markets are generally bearish (lower values), they tend to favor people who are actively buying. When markets are generally bullish (higher values), on the other hand, they tend to favor people who are actively selling.

If you are hoping to sell your home, you will want to choose a year where—when all else is equal—prices are generally higher than average. This will be the exact same sort of logic you can find on Wall Street when trades are often made using the mantra “buy low, sell high.”

Before deciding to sell your home, there are many things you will need to consider. Your personal situation—familial, financial, long-term oriented, etc.—will be among the most important. Still, keeping all of these things in mind, there are quite a few reasons why 2019 may be the year for you take action.

In this article, we will discuss just a few of the reasons why 2019 might be the ideal year for you to sell your home with help from an experienced Denver realtor. By keeping all of these things in mind, you will be able to make the decision that’s right for your family.

1. Mortgage Rates are Generally Rising

Due to actions taken by the Federal Reserve and various other economic forces, mortgage rates are currently at the highest rate they have been since the “Housing Bubble” popped in 2008. These rates will likely continue to rise into the perpetual future, meaning that every day you wait to sell your home, the pool of available price-ranged buyers will be decreasing.

Selling your home before mortgage rates rise even further will not only give you a wider range of buyers to choose from—this will also help you secure a better mortgage on your next home once your current one has been sold. Keeping these trends in mind, many real estate experts believe that 2019 presents the “perfect storm” of buying and selling forces.

2. Real Estate Listings are On the Rise

In order for your home to receive a competitive offer, you will want to list it on the market before all of your neighbors have made the decision to do so. This means that any time the amount of homes being listed is increasing, there will be pressure to quickly put your home onto the market as well.

Real estate listings have been rising especially fast in the South and the West—two of the most rapidly growing regions in the United States. Major cities such as Denver, Charlotte, San Jose, and Austin have all experienced a sharp increases in listings alongside a decrease in the number of days the average home is listed. While you should certainly not sell your home before you are fully ready, the sense of market urgency is undeniable.

3. The Stock Market has been Increasingly Volatile

If you are a savvy investor, then every decision that you make will keep the “opportunity cost” of the investment in mind. The true value of your investment, it seems, will largely depend on how viable your other investment options actually are.

2018 was an incredibly volatile year for the stock market and 2019 is already shaping up to be quite similar. Because the stock market has been experiencing such intense waves of ups and downs, many investors have begun looking for other places to store their wealth. As a result, billions of dollars are being reallocated from the stock market to real estate investments.

4. The National Population is Increasing

In order for the value of a home to increase, there will need to be a corresponding increase in demand. In a country such as the United States—which has experienced population increases in every census since the 1790s—the source for increased demand is very natural.

As a population increases, the need for homes will increase as well. Naturally, this does not mean there will always be an upward pressure on demand, but when we are experiencing pre-recession conditions, this will usually be the case. Additionally, the nation’s generally aging demographic means more people are of an age where buying a home is a legitimate option.

5. A Near-Future Recession is Likely

While the United States has not yet entered into a recession, there are ample reasons to believe that a recession may take place in the near future. Between the volatility of the stock market, the formulation of several new “bubbles”, and a general movement away from free trade, many economists believe a recession may formulate within the next 24 months.

Once a recession hits—and this is a matter of when, not if—housing prices will considerably decrease in value. This means that if you are holding onto a once valuable property, you can expect your net worth to take a considerable dip (at least temporarily). In order to remain ahead of the curve, you may want to list your home as soon as feasibly possible.

6. New Construction in Major Metropolitan Areas

If you live in a major metropolitan area, you have probably noticed a considerable amount of new construction over the past few years. Most metropolitan areas (even those in slow-growth regions) have enjoyed a significant amount of capital investment since the year 2010.

While the growth of Denver and other major cities has generally been a good thing, new construction can have a unique negative effect on the property values of older homes. The newer the average home in a neighborhood becomes, the less appealing older homes will be. In order to keep your wealth where it is most likely to increase in value, you should try toown a home that is less than 20 years old. Working with an experienced realtor in Denver can help you determine if now is the right time to sell.

Conclusion

Anyone who owns real estate can consider themselves to be a real estate investor. As an investor, it will be crucial to recognize when your investments have maximized their values and when it might be the right time for you to reallocate your wealth. For many reasons, 2019 appears to be the perfect opportunity for you to sell your home. This is a year where demand is high and profitable real estate sales are still well within reach. While it may be tempting to wait until the future to sell, choosing to do so may end up costing you a significant amount of money.