By Allison Barnett
Associate Broker, My Home Group

In a changing market, it is important to consider the reasons for selling your home. Sometimes a job relocation, starting a family, getting married, or getting divorced make buying or selling a home necessary.

There are financial factors at play with these decisions as with any major purchase, but that is not always the only reason behind selling or buying.

If you are trying to maximize the financial outcome of the transaction, then it may behoove you to time the sale or purchase to be advantageous with the market. For example, if you are trying to get top dollar for your property and there is a spike in inventory, then you may decide to delay listing your home or even pull it from the market.
If you are making a decision that is more tied to emotional reasons, then timing for top dollar may not be your only consideration, as selling may become a necessity for other reasons. For example, if you have health implications from delaying putting your house on the market, your timeline may be expedited as the bottom line in finances may not be your most important consideration.

It may make sense to put the house on the market and reduce the price to what the market will bear rather than wait it out to capitalize on getting top dollar for the property, when the motivation is principally to mitigate other risk factors that are not solely real estate.

In every scenario it is important to consider your motivations for selling your home before you consider listing it for sale. This will help you make the right decisions at every step of the way, whether it is decision based solely on the financial implications or there is an emotional basis for the decision.

It is important to understand the framework setting the tone for this decision, so that when it comes to negotiations you know where you are willing to compromise and where you need to negotiate.


Allison Barnett is a licensed associate broker with My Home Group in both Arizona and California. She is also the managing partner of North 32nd, Inc. which is bringing revitalization of the community thru strategic partnerships with the City of Phoenix as well as local businesses. AllisonJBarnett.com | North32nd.com