Q: Do You Still Buy Into These 5 Selling Myths?

There are plenty of delightful myths and legends surrounding the holiday season—mistletoes, toy-making elves, and a jolly, red-suited gift-bearer to name a few. Such tales add cheer and nostalgia to the season, but some myths can spoil the season. Here are the five most common home-selling myths that sellers should leave out in the snow this year: 

Myth No. 1: Buyers are waiting to enter the market

The truth is, interest rates remain near record lows, so buyers are out there searching in earnest for the right home that they can purchase at the right rate. With so many unknowns (e.g., a new administration in the White House and several viable COVID-19 vaccines on the horizon), buyers aren’t betting that these insanely low rates will hang around much longer. 

Myth No. 2: Fall and winter are just bad times to sell 

There really isn’t as much seasonality to the real estate market as there used to be; people will make a move when it’s the right time for them to do so. That’s why I always tell people that the only “right time” to buy a home is when it makes the most sense for their specific circumstances. 

Myth No. 3: Home prices are decreasing 

Unfortunately, if you’re a buyer, that isn’t the case at all. Sellers, on the other hand, have a lot to smile about: We’re continuing to see year-over-year increases in sales prices. In fact, we’re up 5.5% from where we were at this time last year. 

Myth No. 4: You won’t be able to show your home

We take great pride in prioritizing everyone’s health and safety by implementing special systems and processes. We have ways to show your home to potential buyers virtually (an increasingly popular option), and in the event that people do come through your home, we’re taking extra steps to ensure that a) those buyers are completely qualified, and b) everyone is following CDC guidelines. That means we’re vetting people for symptoms, requiring them to wear masks and gloves inside the home, minimizing the amount of contact they’ll have with surfaces, and using sanitizer. 

Myth No. 5: The real estate market is going to crash

What’s happening now in the real estate market is completely different from the situation that led to the 2008 collapse and subsequent Great Recession. Mortgage lending is much, much more responsible, and American homeowners, on the whole, have greater equity positions, which gives them plenty of options to recoup some of their equity should they find themselves in mortgage trouble. The U.S. economy is certainly stronger in some sectors than in others, and real estate has proven itself to be one of the titanic forces holding things up as COVID-19 wreaks havoc. According to basic supply and demand relationships, we won’t see a market crash anytime soon. 

I hope you found value in today’s blog. We’re always here to answer your questions about buying or selling real estate, so please reach out via phone or email. We also welcome you to share topics that you’d like to see covered in a future blog; our mission is to provide value to you. Stay safe this holiday season, and we’ll see you next time!