To Sell or Not to Sell (RE market, sales, prices, rent)

[gregandvicky]

I live in central Texas where RE prices have not dropped yet, although sales have slowed down a little.

I want to move to Arizona where it appears RE prices have fallen and may go lower.

My question is, should I go ahead and sell here or wait for a while to see how things fall out in the RE market and the credit crunch problems.

[Gretchen B]

What a great position to be in! You can sell high and buy low. If you feel prices may continue to climb where you're at, then you may want to consider waiting to sell. However, the general national trend is that parts of the country that haven't been hit by the slowdown still will be; therefore you may want to get your place sold while the market in your area is still a seller's market.

You can always rent for a while if you're not ready to buy right away. Keep in mind, though, not all of AZ has tanked. There are still many areas where prices are relatively stable.

[CouponJack]

I would really scope out the local MLS of the area in AZ you're looking and see how the inventory stacks up. Are there still a ton of homes looking for buyers? If so, I'd wait. Prices CANNOT go up w/an oversupply of inventory. Basic rule of supply and demand.

gl

[gregandvicky]

Is this the wrong time of year to try and sell a home or does it really matter??

I have had some tell me it does not matter and others say Thanksgiving, Christmas is a bad time.

Also the areas I have been looking at in Arizona seem quit reasonable, almost half of what they year 15 months ago, namely Maricopa and Florence.

[Gretchen B]

Some people think it's better to wait til spring to sell, but the problem with that is that everybody else is thinking the same thing . . . so you're apt to have a lot more competition in the spring. And if the market slows significantly in your area you'd be shooting yourself in the foot to wait til spring to try to sell.

Maricopa and Florence markets have really tanked from what I understand. Keep that in mind, though, when you go to buy. If you're not planning on selling in the next 5 to 10 years you'll probably be fine. But with so many "cheap" (as in extremely affordable) new homes being built there, you're going to have competition from the new home builders for many years should you need to sell before that area gets built out.

[yellowsnow]

If you are sure you want to move, sell and sell now. I don't see anything good happening in Real Estate that would make it easier to sell down the road. Then rent until you think the time is right to buy in AZ. Then you will be ahead of the game when the market tanks in Texas.

[palmcoasting]

What Yellowsnow said. Sell now, get the most out of it, and then rent or buy where you want to be.
Good luck to ya!

[kturbe]

Rememeber it is rare to have a sellers market and a buyers market. If you are comfortable with what you will make on your home in Texas and get something you like and plan to live in for a while in Arizona then you have a great scenerio.

Generally speaking in my area, Early spring is the best time to place your home on the market, after the holidays. The goal being getting is sold before May when the rush of summer comes.

Best of luck!