“Should I sell now or hold on to it some more?”we always hear from sellers. With the prime selling season soon upon us, we thought it worthwhile to outline exactly which sellers should list and which could hold off for a bit longer. This is because we are seeing some wacky statistics in terms of huge drops in inventory and significant upticks in demand (contracts signed):
Based on the above, alone, if you own a townhouse on the Upper West Side, a condo in Gramercy or anything in Chelsea, you should have listed yesterday.
Now, let’s overlay some other seasonal nuggets on top of this to get more granular:
- 75%+ of leases turn over between April and September; rents are expected to increase between 4-10% this year, leaving many renters looking to purchase, instead. Most will try to time it such that they close right before their lease runs out. For those whose leases expire earlier in the spring/summer season, this means they’re looking NOW to find a place and close ASAP. For those whose leases expire in September, they’re looking to be in contract by end of June at the latest, leaving them with three months to find a place. If you are the owner of a starter property or one that is in turn-key condition, now is the time to list to appeal to first time buyers.
- Most families with children hate to move during the school year, for several, self-evident reasons. The ideal time-frame is to allow at least one month prior to the start of the school year to settle in. That means closing some time in July, and therefore being in contract by May. These families are looking NOW and are finding very little by way of inventory. If you own a 3 or 4 bedroom home and have considered selling, delay no more.
You may ask: “So who should NOT be selling right now?” We would suggest that those investors who purchased to rent and are making 30%+ profit (beyond covering their total carrying costs) stay put. We don’t yet see an end in sight to the continuing improvement in the rental market from a landlord’s perspective. Unless you need to take your cash and deploy it via other opportunities, you’ll benefit from the macro rental trends. The second group of sellers who should wait to list are those owning more aged or dated co-ops with summer-only renovations policies (Memorial Day to Labor Day). Those properties needed to be in contract by now to allow at least 2 months to get all permits and permissions in place before beginning.
We hope this is helpful to you, if you have been hemming and hawing over listing your property. Sheer supply and demand dynamics are very much in the favor of sellers right now. Price correctly, show whenever possible, and you should be sitting pretty in a few short months.
