Homeowners want to sell their homes. When the coronavirus pandemic first arrived on American soil, no one in their right mind expected the onrushing tsunami of social and economic effects and changes it would bring into our daily lives.
Although the majority of these effects were decidedly negative – human grief, business closures and job losses, anxiety and stress, a whole year of learning in our kids’ schools lost, and so on, one aspect of daily U.S. life seemed to thrive – the U.S. housing market.
As the rest of the domestic economy took a major hit, house prices did the unthinkable.
They increased. And some. In fact, they increased so much that in late 2021 and early 2022, in real terms, they had never been so high.
Homeowners want to sell their homes in 2023 Because, in the US, they went into a mad, Cyber Monday-style buying frenzy to take advantage of the mass of extremely low mortgage rates on offer. In doing so, they created a massive gap between the low physical supply of houses and the rising demand for available ones.
And so, U.S. house prices, with a few geographical exceptions, went up and up. And up some more.
The question homeowners are asking is this: As house prices in late 2022 are finally starting to show signs of decreasing, will this trend continue into 2023? Or, as some experts are whispering, will we even see another crash?
The upshot of this uncertainty is simple:
Many homeowners are now looking to cash in handsomely on their home’s new and improved market value.
The U.S. Housing Market in 2022-2023: Key Points
Long before the coronavirus pandemic pushed up U.S. house prices, they had already been experiencing strong increases across the board for nearly a decade. Between 2012 and 2019 (before the pandemic arrived), the price of an average American home had increased by a massive 50%, resulting in the 3rd. biggest “boom” in history.
Then the pandemic’s house-buying fever pushed average prices higher.
Here’s a historical look at U.S. house prices over the last decade, using loan application data from the Freddie Mac House Price Index (FMHPI). Although the data is national and includes every state in the U.S., it is limited in that it only reflects single-family detached and townhome properties that are financed by first-lien conventional and conforming loans.
U.S. House Price Appreciation: 2010-2023
Source: Freddie Mac House Price Index (FMHPI)
Why Do Many Homeowners Want to Sell Their Homes in 2023?
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average American will move around 11.7 times during their lifetime.
The reasons for doing so are extremely diverse, ranging from personal relationships – a happy marriage or a very unhappy divorce – to the house’s physical surroundings – too urban or too rural – and so on.
So why do many U.S. homeowners want to sell their homes during 2023?
Is everyone changing their lifestyle completely and perhaps becoming digital nomads so they can “remote work” their way around the globe?
Or are people thinking, after all the endless stress and chronic anxiety caused by the coronavirus pandemic, that life really is too short – let’s downsize our home and live better?
According to housing experts, the primary reasons U.S. homeowners are looking to sell their homes in 2023 are pretty much the same as they ever were. However, after the recent boom in house prices, there’s now the added impetus of increased equity. To put it simply, the homes of many homeowners have never been worth so much…
Selling Up & Moving Home in 2023: Key Points
- Home-Related Reasons: These include needing a larger or a smaller home to better fit changing needs, a quieter neighborhood, or a house near better schools for growing children.
- Financial Reasons: Finance-based reasons can include a desire to live in a better home or neighborhood, moving into a newly-built house to avoid costly repairs in the old one, or cashing in on increased equity.
- Personal Reasons: Personal reasons can apply to anything from “I feel like a change,” relocating for better job opportunities, or moving closer to family.
- Circumstantial Reasons: As we move through life, we go through distinct stages, which are mostly centered around growing up, work, marriage, and retirement. During these different stages, our circumstances naturally change, such as our children becoming adults and moving out, entering our retirement years, and being widowed.
Let’s look at these reasons for selling in 2023 in more detail:
1. Selling in 2023: Home-Related Reasons
There can be many motivations behind a desire to sell your home, and many of these will be centered around the house itself, or its location. This is not to say that there are problems with the house or the neighborhood it is in – it’s far more likely to mean that the property or the area doesn’t fit the homeowner’s needs as it once did. Many homeowners want to sell their homes in 2023
| A | The Home is Too Small or Too Big | One exceptionally common reason for selling your home and moving on is the expansion of your family. First-time homebuyers, which may initially have bought their house for just themselves or with a partner, will soon discover a sizable lack of space when children start being added into the family equation. Furthermore, as those children grow, many homeowners need an even larger house. Lastly, it is also quite common in this day and age for homeowners to look for “multi-generational homes” – to accommodate aging parents or their now adult children moving back home. |
| B | The Home Doesn’t Meet Current Needs | Houses that once fit the bill perfectly for a family’s needs will, over time, outlive their usefulness. Additionally, for whatever reason, their homes may not have been “ideal” in the first place, as they soon discover. Remember, homeowners, are only human and make mistakes. |
| C | Over Time, The Neighborhood Has Changed | It’s not only peoples’ needs that change – neighborhoods do, too. It may be that the area has become too commercial, too crowded with new apartment complexes, or too “something else” that doesn’t suit the homeowner anymore. |
2. Selling in 2023: Financial Reasons
Financial pressures are also another common motivation (or inescapable reason) for moving. Not only do homeowners’ incomes change over time, but the value of a home can also change significantly over time.
| A | Cashing in Improved Equity | Some homeowners become frustrated because their home has decent equity they wish to access, but it’s a real challenge to tap into it practically. Although home equity loans and lines of credit can access your home’s equity, they involve more debt, which may not be best in the long run. Therefore, many homeowners find it more financially sensible to sell and free up the funds for other things. By cashing in, they are taking advantage of the appreciation in the revised value of their property. |
| B | Upgrading The Home | Many people decide to move on because they are financially much better off than when they originally purchased the property. By moving into a bigger, more expensive home, they are investing their new wealth in bricks and mortar. |
| C | Deferring Maintenance | For some homeowners, the upkeep of their homes can prove to be a sticking point. For example, if the house needs a new roof or other costly reparations, some people decide it’s far easier to buy a newer home in the long run. The life of most residential infrastructures is about 15 years, according to building depreciation advisors, so it could make sense to get out before investing hard-earned savings on repairs. |
3. Selling in 2023: Personal Reasons
Life has the ability to change in ever-increasing ways, and many have little to do with money or family size. If owning a house is the only thing keeping a homeowner tied to a specific area, it is possible it makes more sense to consider moving on to a new home in another location.
| A | New Job or Transfer | Work-related relocation can make it necessary to sell your home. Additionally, there may be incentives provided by the new company that can help financially with a move, too. |
| B | See Family More Often (or Less Often) | People frequently move to be near relatives, especially as they grow older. On the other hand, some homeowners move to put distance between themselves and their family. |
| C | Need a New Challenge | There are also those people who enjoy fixing up a home and spending time, money, and effort on remodeling. However, once all the work is done, they are anxious to get started on their next project. |
| D | Different Interests & Priorities | Some people get tired of owning a home and prefer to travel, pursue a hobby, or be less conventional. Homeownership loses its priority status for these people, and selling a home becomes an avenue for realizing their dreams. |
4. Selling in 2023: Circumstantial Reasons
As people get older, their circumstances invariably change – sometimes by choice and sometimes by something out of their control. As people reach significant milestones in their lives – marriage, divorce, or bereavement, for example – their residential preferences and needs will often change, too.
| A | Change in Relationship Status | Moving in with a partner or getting married usually means selling one or both home-owning properties. Conversely, breakups, especially divorce, are common reasons people sell homes. |
| B | Kids Grown Up & Moved Out | Once a couple’s children have grown up and moved out, many “empty-esters” (often called) choose to downsize their home. Understandably, the older you get, the harder a big house is to maintain, and the better an apartment or townhouse may look. Health can also play a deciding factor. Physical ailments can make it difficult to climb stairs, walk long distances, negotiate narrow spaces, or do yard work. As refitting can be expensive, it’s often wiser to move to a place with a more preferred layout or even somewhere that has its own maintenance staff. |
| C | Bereavement in the Family | When one half of a couple passes on, the other (remaining) person can often find the home either too big to manage on their own, or it can be too full of reminders and memories to stay there. Estate planners and advisors sometimes recommend that homeowners transfer the title to a property into a trust, which allows their heirs to avoid probate proceedings, and sell their home more easily. |
Selling Your Home in 2023: Act Now, Move Quickly
Now we’re at the end of 2022; the housing market certainly isn’t the same as when the year started. With higher interest rates now making monthly mortgage payments even higher, many buyers are stepping back as they reassess their ability to afford a new home.
Still, as we know, home prices continue to rise year-over-year in most parts of the U.S., and selling your home isn’t necessarily a bad idea if you consider other key factors – for example, if your current situation mirrors one of the numbers of reasons given previously in our article.
For homeowners looking to sell, there is one big factor in your favor. There is a very limited number of homes currently on the market, and this won’t be improved with the new (and limited) number of construction projects currently happening around the U.S.
Better Off Home Buyers Can Help You Move Quickly
At Better Off Home Buyers, we can help you move quickly, just like the hundreds and hundreds of homeowners we have helped to move quickly before. Whatever the reason you want to sell your house – opting for a life change that involves moving to another state, more room for a growing family, or a bigger footprint needed for permanent work-from-home space – we can offer you a handsome cash price for your property.
As Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist for First American Financial Corp., recently stated, “Some homeowners may find it’s time to downsize, or they may need to relocate to another city or state. It can be risky to try and time the market, so when it comes to making the decision to sell or buy, it’s important to have a budget and a plan in place.”
By selling your home for cash to Better Off Home Buyers, we can do both – provide a healthy budget to spend on your next house and help you with the planning you need to make your dream move into a reality.
Simply fill out our short form below or dial our phone number directly. You will receive a “no-obligation, no-pressure” cash offer for your property. Our home-buying process is transparent and easy to understand. We close in about seven days, but you can close on the date of your choice.
Contact us at Better Off Home Buyers today.