While a majority of prospective home sellers think prices will rise in the next year, a common concern is that they won’t be able to sell before prices fall – an indication of the general sense of indecision characterizing homeowners this fall, according to a Redfin survey.
In a survey of over 1,700 potential home sellers, 68 percent of respondents said they expect home prices to increase in 2017 while only 5 percent believed prices would actually fall.
Forty-two percent of respondents agreed that now is a good time to sell, up 8 percentage points from the same time last year, while only 8 percent reported it is a bad time to sell in their neighborhood.
Despite strong indicators that potential sellers are confident in the market, 55 percent had no plans to sell, and an additional 28 percent are planning to sell but unsure of the timing. Sellers’ hesitance was reflected in the survey results.
Top reasons homeowners said they’re planning to sell
- Upgrade to a better home (36 percent)
- Pull out profit from their equity (23 percent)
Top concerns about deciding to sell
- Problems finding the replacement home they want (32 percent)
- Prices may fall before they’re able to sell (32 percent)
“The irony doesn’t escape me when I say home sellers are in a tough spot right now, since the market seems to weigh so heavily in their favor,” says Lorella Martin, a Redfin real estate agent in Austin. “Many people move out of necessity, but those homeowners who would like to sell in order to upgrade to a larger and nicer home are on the fence. As prices continue to rise, most prospective home sellers ask me two key questions: ‘Is now the best time to sell?’ and ‘How difficult will it be to find another home?'”
