Should I Sell My House Now or Wait?

In our current complex housing market, homeowners with dreams of moving to a new place are asking the universal question, “Should I sell my house now or wait?”

Making the decision to sell a house is hard enough, but knowing if now is the time to list it is a whole other level of calculus, especially when the housing market feels unpredictable.

While the market has a significant impact on the sale of your home, it’s not the only factor to consider. It’s also important to evaluate your own personal situation and reasons for selling.

To provide you with some guidance, we’ve consulted with top real estate experts and researched the best ways to determine if now is a good time for you to sell your home, or if you might benefit from waiting.

Is now a good time to sell my house, or should I wait?

According to Fannie Mae’s most recent Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI), 65% of consumers believe it’s a good time to sell a home, while 17% believe it’s a good time to buy a home. These figures are down one percentage point and two percentage points, respectively, compared to June 2024. As of July 2024, the index remained at 71.5, holding steady from the previous month and reflecting a 4.7-point increase year-over-year.

Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae senior vice president and chief economist, says, “There seems to be little expectation among the general population that homebuying conditions will improve in the near future: More consumers than not see home prices rising further; and slightly more consumers think mortgage rates will increase, rather than decrease, over the next 12 months.”

Here’s a quick look at current market conditions:

Home sales are gradually declining: In June 2024, sales of existing homes in the United States dipped 5.4% over the same period last year, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Mortgage interest rates remain stubbornly high: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate is hovering around 6.5%-7% as of late August 2024, which has led to a decline in both mortgage applications and pending home sales. Experts predict there will be a rate cut before the end of the year.
Housing inventory is improving: According to NAR, June’s inventory of unsold listings grew 3.1% over the previous month and 23.4% compared to the same period a year earlier. The current month’s supply — a measure of how long it would take to sell all of the homes on the market at the current pace of sales — stands at 4.1 months. While this is the highest since September 2019, inventory levels are still far below the “desired pace of 6 months,” NAR notes.
Home prices rise across the board: In June, the national median existing-home price across all housing types climbed to $426,900, reflecting a 4.1% increase from the previous year. NAR data suggests that prices rose in all four regions of the country, led by the Northeast (+9.7%), followed by the Midwest (+5.5%), the West (+3.5%), and the South (+1.7%).

You could base your decision to sell on market conditions or the fact that 65% of consumers think the timing is right, but a decision like this is not something a homeowner can determine from national surveys and interest rate activity alone. In the following sections, we’ll provide two sets of common scenarios to help you decide if now is a good time for you to sell, or if you might want to wait.