Selling a home is a major life decision. Part of the sale process is knowing whether you should sell based on your personal goals and the real estate market in your area.

The following are some things to consider to help you determine if you should sell your home and then a quick rundown of the process.

Market Analysis

The real estate market has been sizzling for several years now. Even during the pandemic, the housing market remained healthy, and prices increased dramatically. Virtually everywhere in the country, if you were a seller, it was your market for the asking.

That might be changing, and the housing market might be finally cooling off. There are several indicators that a correction has started. Here are a few.

A glut in new housing
Inflation depressing consumer spending ability

Rising interest rates making homes mortgages unaffordable
Political, economic, and world upheaval

Those factors have led to a general sense of unease that seems to be starting to affect real estate.

Questions to Ask Yourself

When deciding, ask yourself the following:

Why Are You Thinking About Selling?

Your reason for selling or holding off will drive your decision-making more than market prices or interest rates. Make sure your reasons for wanting to sell are reasonable and fact-based.

Do You Have to Sell?

You may not have a choice in some instances, like finances or a divorce. That makes your decision easy.

What is The State Of Your Local Real Estate Market?

Local markets often defy regional and national trends. The state of your local market might affect your decision one way or the other.

Three Scenarios

Here are three scenarios that might help you make your decision.

Space Issues

If your house is too large or small, why moving makes sense is pretty self-explanatory. Maybe the last kid just moved out. Perhaps you have a kid on the way and need another bedroom. You may need extra office space if you now work at home full time.

Each situation is a reason to sell what you have now, but only if the market continues to be healthy. If it is starting to collapse, maybe you make the kids double up for a few years.

Sell for Profit

Another scenario is when you want to make money off the home. If you just paid off the mortgage, selling in a “still up” market is icing on the cake. If you are in the reverse situation, selling now will probably be the best market you will see for a while.

Evaluating your local market and determining if you can make what you need or want will go a long way in helping you decide to sell or hold off.

Life Change (Job Opportunity, More Kids, Divorce, etc.)

Life is full of reasons for you to sell:

You or your partner might have a new job
You are getting divorced

You are retiring
The neighborhood or community has changed

No matter, there are many reasons why selling now makes sense, even if it goes against conventional advice or wisdom.

There also might be other factors that work against the “right” decision. You may not want to uproot the kids. Perhaps your spouse’s job is inflexible. You or your spouse might love where you live and want to figure out how to stay in your home.

Competing factors can clarify things because they open the door for a compromise. If the reason to sell is for a job, for example, maybe you work out a commuting arrangement in the new location. If you or your spouse love the area you live in, perhaps you look for one similar to where you live where you are moving.

Compromise is almost always possible if both parties approach the decision with an open mind.

Tying It Together

You have looked at the national market. You have researched your local market and know your likely price point based on home sale prices in your area. You know why you want to sell or why you might want to hold off. You have discussed options with your family.

After you have done all that work and checked all those boxes, deciding whether to sell or hold off is purely personal. There is no right or wrong answer. If you have worked through all the questions and scenarios above, you should have an idea of the direction you should head. You should know the pros and cons of selling or waiting.

Now, it is just a matter of whether you want to heed your research, decide based on your gut, or opt to go with a mix of both.