My Expert Advice for Buying & Selling a Home in 2021
Low Inventory, Low Interest Rates, and High Buyer Demand in the Suburban Chicago Real Estate Market Make It an Ideal Time To Buy and Sell a Home in 2021
If you plan to buy or sell a house this year, this is for you. I've got some really great suggestions to help you in the current real estate environment. And this is definitely a call to action as inventory remains extremely low, especially in the Chicago suburbs. We need more houses to sell! There's so much buyer demand and that, coupled with historically low interest rates, makes for a really hot real estate market right now.
My Tips for Sellers
If you're planning on selling your house in the spring, do not wait until March, April, or May. Many people think the spring market starts when the flowers are blooming and that's just not the case, especially in Chicago. The spring market traditionally starts right after the Super Bowl in February, but this year is different. The spring market is here right now because we had a really busy holiday season, and a lot of buyers are still out there looking because of the low inventory.
Buyers either haven't found what they're looking for or they've bid on houses, gotten into bidding wars, and haven't gotten the house they wanted. I’m also seeing a new pool of buyers that are just getting started. So again, if you're planning on selling your house this spring, I recommend that you move up your timeline if you can. If you're not sure where to start to get your house ready to go to market, I can help with staging, decluttering, etc.
Sellers often ask me, “What if I sell my house too quickly and don't have anywhere to go?” That's a valid concern, but it's a good problem to have because you’ve most likely sold your house for top dollar in a short amount of time. You've also given yourself a competitive edge by selling your existing house first, so when you go to purchase your new house you don't have to worry about having a home sale contingency. Of course, this applies only to those who need to sell their house in order to buy.
I've been negotiating a lot of rent backs, which is called a post-closing possession on the contract. When you close on your house, you get the equity out and then you pay rent back to your buyer who then becomes the new owner of your house. It’s an approach that gives you extra time to find your new house if your buyer is flexible with their move-in date, if not, there's a lot of temporary housing out there. I know it's a pain to move twice but it can be worth it, especially in a competitive environment, as many sellers will not accept a home sale contingency on a hot property in a multiple-offer situation.
My Tips for Buyers
It's really important not to rely on Zillow, Redfin, or whatever search engine you're using to find your dream home because a lot of houses are selling pre-market. Pre-market, also known as the private market or PLN, is a ‘coming soon’ segment of the MLS for houses preparing for market that only brokers can access.
Recently, I posted a coming soon house that I had on the private market on my Facebook page and it was under contract within two days! A lot of houses are selling this way, as some sellers don’t want their houses listed publicly and prefer to sell on the private market. Because a lot of homes are selling this way, it's important that you're working with a broker who's keeping a close eye on the private market in the areas where you're searching and who has local broker connections to access these private listings.
Finally, be prepared when you’re ready to make an offer. If you have to sell your existing house first, refer to my tips for sellers above, and if you don’t have a house to sell make sure you at least have your mortgage pre-approval ready to go. Knowing the market you're buying in so you're not wasting time and can act fast on the house of your dreams is key in the current environment.
I'd love to help you buy or sell your home in 2021! Reach out to schedule a consultation at jnewsom@bhhschicago.com or (773) 580-5840.