Selling your home during a recession can feel daunting; on average, fewer people are ready to pull the trigger on big purchases, which translates to fewer potential buyers and lower demand. As a result, sellers worry about getting a below-listing offer or no offers, letting the sales process drag on.
That being said, some markets are so hot, like Washington D.C., that a recession may not slow down interest in your home at all; it just depends. So what do you need to consider when selling during a recession? There are a few practical realities to consider before you start.
How Quickly and Urgently Do You Need to Sell?
Realistically, if you’re leaving the area for a new job and don’t want to be a rental property owner, you may have no choice but to sell right now. If there is a big reason to get the money out of the house or to no longer be responsible for upkeep, those are compelling levels of urgency that can change how you opt to sell. If you neither have a quick sale nor an urgent sale but rather have time to make your decision, it’s worth considering whether selling at all is the right call right now – your question is more about “when, rather than if,” but you do have the option to delay for better conditions.
What Proportion of Max Value Do You Need to Sell For?
There is a hypothetical maximum that you could sell your home for; if you do the maximum amount of cosmetic updates, find the perfect listing photos, market heavily, and emphasize all the benefits, you’d get this amount. However, many people don’t have the time or upfront cash to make all those investments in getting a maximum price – they need to get the best price given the time and money they have available to work on the sale. Suppose you’re in a very tight financial spot. In that case, though, you may need to squeeze an extra few thousand out of this sale, while if you are selling for well above what you bought this home for, you might be able to save yourself some hassle and sell a bit under the general estimate for its current worth to get the process done with.
What Living Situations Are Available to You After Sale?
For those who aren’t quite sure about selling at all during this season of the economic cycle, you have to evaluate where you will live if you sell. Sure, it’s nice to get out from under a burdensome mortgage, but if your new home will cost more and have a higher interest rate, it may not be the right time to sell. Alternatively, if you have people you can live with for a year or more so that you can wait out a recession, it might work better to go ahead and sell and no longer be in your tough spot. Your options are a big part of when and how to sell. Realistically, you want to know your goal from a sale and choose based on whether those goals can be achieved right now.
