Home on Lake Martin

While there are many reasons to make this winter season the season you choose to sell your Lake Martin home, here’s an important one to add to your list! The gap between homeowners and appraisers has narrowed to the lowest its been in two years. As your Lake Martin real estate team, we can tell you, this is a very good thing!

In today’s market, with the inventory of homes for sale lower than average, and buyer demand very high, home values have been increasing at a rapid speed. Some experts expect values to appreciate by another 4 percent or more by this time next year.

While increased home values are great news for Lake Martin home sellers, it’s important to note that homeowners have to first sell their home to an interested buyer, and then again to the bank. Often, the appraisal comes in short of the home value, because homes just aren’t worth as much as their rapidly increasing home values.

It’s difficult for appraisers to find adequate, comparable sales, or in others words, similar houses in the neighborhood that recently closed. Therefore, there is disparity between what the homeowner is seeking to sell their home for, and what the appraisal deems the home is worth. Sometimes, a buyer won’t pay what the seller is asking, because the appraisal shows it isn’t worth that much.

So it’s great news that the gap between appraisers and homeowners has dropped to only -0.5 percent. Even at a number that small, the difference could be thousands of dollars, depending what your home is listed for, but it’s a step in the right direction!

Aside from this narrowing gap, other reasons to sell your Lake Martin home now include:

1.  Buyer demand is high. If you want a quick sale, now is the time to sell! Buyers want to beat out rising home prices and increasing mortgage rates.

2.  Competition is low. Many sellers wait until spring or summer to sell. If you want to sell with low competition, now is the time to do it.

3.  Buying up is wise. If you are looking to sell so that you can buy a bigger or better home on Lake Martin, now is the time, so you too can beat rising prices and mortgage rates.

4.  Market is less busy. Competition is lower right now, but so is general real estate activity. That means that real estate agents, mortgage lenders, appraisers, inspectors, etc. are less busy. The process could go faster!

5.  You have a reason for wanting to sell. Whether you want to move to a better home, downsize, change locations, grow your family, or whatever reason you have for selling, why put it off? There has never been a better time to move forward with your life and your goals!

When ready to sell your Lake Martin home, contact us, the Haynie Team! We are here to answer your questions and to help guide you through the entire home-selling process in the Lake Martin real estate market!

Becky Haynie, Associate Broker / Realtor
Lake Martin Realty
www.HomeOnLakeMartin.com