With summer right around the corner and another school year drawing to a close, you might be thinking about putting your Long Island home up for sale. However, after years of increasing home prices, how do you know if now is the right time to sell? Should you wait another year and then move? While there’s no perfect time to sell, we are seeing a few different things in the Long Island real estate market that will work in your favor should you decide to list this year.
The Great Return to Work is Upending Lives
We knew it was coming. After so many companies switched their employees over to remote work in the spring of 2020, businesses are now requiring their workers to show up to the office again. While some people are still working from home indefinitely, others are discovering that they like their remote lifestyle and don’t want to go back to the office. This sentiment is one of many that’s driving the Great Resignation – the name for the phenomenon of workers quitting their jobs in droves.
What does this have to do with selling your home? When people change jobs or careers, they often reassess their housing needs. The fact that so many people are contemplating a shift all at once only strengthens the already strong pool of prospective buyers. More demand for Long Island homes and low inventory means higher sales prices.
Interest Rates Are Rising Fast
If you’re on our email list, we laid out a few predictions for the Long Island housing market as soon as it was announced last month that the Federal Reserve planned to increase its benchmark rate a quarter of a point. While that might not have seemed like much at the time, we’re already seeing its effects on the Long Island market.
According to Bankrate, the average 30-year fixed-mortgage rate is 5.29%, up twenty-two basis points over the last seven days. Compare that to where rates were in January of this year – hovering around 3.19%! Rising interest rates directly impact how much home a prospective buyer can afford to purchase. For some buyers, it means adjusting their budget and search criteria. For others, it might mean taking a break from their house hunt entirely.
Trying to curb rising inflation in every sector, the Feds aren’t planning to reverse positions anytime soon. That means more buyers might find themselves priced out of the Long Island neighborhood where they really want to buy.
As a seller, listing your home sooner rather than later means placing your property in front of the widest pool of potential buyers. Buyer demand is still incredibly strong in the Long Island market. Just don’t want too long for conditions to change.
Low Inventory Keeps Home Prices High
Across the country, the available inventory of homes for sale hasn’t kept up with demand from eager buyers hoping to make homeownership a reality while interest rates are still low. Long Island is no different. In fact, we’ve experienced some months of record-low inventory over the last few years. Between March of this year and March of 2021, the number of Long Island homes sold dropped 18%!
That’s great news if you’re a seller. With little competition from other properties, you’ll likely receive a great offer for your Long Island home. Many of our clients have sold their homes for record prices over the last year. If you’re worried about not having anywhere to go after you sell, we have strategies to get your purchase offer accepted. We also know how to negotiate on your behalf to ensure you sell on your terms.
Still on the fence about selling? Give us a call for your free consultation. We’ll be happy to address your concerns and share our solutions-based approach to selling real estate.
The Pesce & Lanzillotta Team, at BHHS Laffey International Realty
Office: 516-888-9711
Email: info@pl-team.com
