Selling Your Home

Should I sell now or wait for a better market?

By Steve Lockhart

The short answer

I hear this from almost every seller. The truth starts with what we can know: no one, not any agent and not any forecast, can promise what rates or prices will do in six months.

Full answer

I hear this from almost every seller. The truth starts with what we can know: no one, not any agent and not any forecast, can promise what rates or prices will do in six months. What we can research is today: your neighborhood's inventory, its pace, your home's value, your equity, and today's net proceeds, and those are all real. Then add the measurable cost of waiting: the mortgage, insurance, and taxes you keep paying each month, plus maintenance and usually the plan of your life on hold. Often the cost of waiting equals the improvement people are hoping for. The third part is human and important: what is the wait worth personally? A new job, a growing family, or the need to be done are real reasons. Price today, the full cost of holding, and your own timing and reasons together make the decision. That is the conversation, and it deserves honesty before anything is listed.

Go a little deeper

Frequently asked

Questions sellers often follow up on

What if rates drop after I sell?

Then you buy at the lower rate like every buyer, with cash in hand and a strong position. You made a deliberate and informed trade, and the plan was built for that. Waiting has not had a trap, it was a bet, and a bet should be priced with its risks.

Is it ever better to rent and wait?

Sometimes, when the rent covers the payment, you can manage the landlord side, and the tax picture helps. Keeping the home is a hedged option, and it is worth modeling. We run the rental-versus-sale numbers when that path has real interest to you.

Can I still sell well in a slow market?

Yes, and the discipline matters more: the right price, real preparation, and strong marketing win even when inventory is high, because the buyers who remain are serious. A slow season can still be your season if the strategy is managed.

The Lockhart Method

Your Home | My Strategy | Proven Results

My strategy: no calendar gambling. We put today's market number next to the full cost of holding, the payments, the taxes, the plan's delay, and the risk you would run, on one sheet. Then timing becomes a decision with margins, not a bet on a lucky turn.

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