Historically, as we move into the holiday season the real estate market tends to slow down.  With all the excitement and busyness of the holidays the added stress of buying or selling a home is just too much for some people.  But there are a few factors that just might make a difference in 2019.

First, just a quick snapshot of what’s happening inSan Diego.  Basically our real estate market is stable.  If we look at this last September and compare it to 2018 we see that prices have softened slightly, with the median price for a detached home in September 2019 at $643,000 compared to $647,000 a year ago. We also see that there were 15% fewer new listings and the overall inventory of detached homes available for sale was a whopping 25% less in September 2019 compared to 2018. However, the number of closed sales was up by 10.3% which would indicate that demand is still high and fewer listings were being cancelled or withdrawn from market.

All of these numbers play an important role in understanding why now is a good time to sell:

1.  Inventory continues to be low and with fewer homes coming on the market during the holidays you have less competition from other home sellers.

2.  Less inventory is also likely to help stabilize prices.  Less supply = more demand.

3.  Buyers who are looking during the holidays are more likely to be serious, motivated and ready to make an offer.  Those who don’t need to buy now will likely wait until life is less hectic.

4.  Low interest rates continue to provide buyer incentive and help stabilize home prices by increasing affordability.

5.  No one has a crystal ball.  Although it is doubtful that we will see another housing debacle as disastrous as the great recession, we are seeing signs that the economy is taking a few hits that could result in a down turn in home prices, again making now a good time to sell.

So if you’re thinking of selling in the next 6 months, now might be the right time to swing into action.  If you are interested in a no obligation market analysis of your home, just give me a call.