The surge in inflation right now is making a significant impact on most industries, including home buying. People are cautious about buying homes in response to rising costs across the board.
In places like Redmond where people still want to move, homes are selling fast, and many are receiving multiple offers as a result of frenzied buyers. This race created by the impact of inflation predicts that a lot of people will be selling their homes as soon as possible to redeem the value at hand in the current prices right now.
If you’re in one of these areas that are seeing insane home sales run through in your local market, you should look for resources to help you sell your home as fast as possible without incurring any problems. For those who have never sold your home before, this is probably the opportune time to do so. Companies like QuickSell exist to rapidly maximize your sales and move your property immediately.
Understanding Inflation and Its Effects on the Housing Market
Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services is rising, and, subsequently, purchasing power is falling. Central banks attempt to limit inflation, and avoid deflation, to keep the economy running smoothly. Most people find this the easiest way to think about inflation: you start losing the ability to buy the things you need to live (i.e., “goods and services”) because the price of those things is increasing on an absolute basis. If you, like everyone else, have a static income, your purchasing power decreases as this number increases. In the U.S., it has been 3.5% p.a. on average year-over-year (over different time periods), with recent numbers showing ~5.9% in the U.S. as of 2022.
In Washington State, we have not quite reached double the national average, but we are getting there. There are a number of reasons why this is happening. For instance, one of the main drivers of inflation in cities like Seattle is the growth in urban housing construction (luxury condos)—driving the market downwards, not upwards.
A lot of “labor” in the economy has “priced out” of a house in Seattle because some people can pay more for it. So (using arbitrary numbers), if you assume there is a given “price at auction” (the “market”) for a house at the end of a year that someone could get (i.e., $2.1 million based on who was in the room), then that means that its “price” at the beginning of the year was based on expectations about what that end-of-year price could be given interest rate movements.
All of the housing gains this last pandemic-recovery year have been based on a single percentage point interest(mortgage) rate movement assumption that prevailed (i.e., most just assumed “the Fed[eral Reserve Bank in San Francisco that covers the Seattle area] will raise [marginal lending cost] rates”) and “priced out” accordingly (partly the result for global capital: “[un]friendly inflation”—i.e., “domestic or international economics”). Prior to that, only “The Cloud” ()`Employees'/Residents’ Phenomenon; ~August 2019) existed. So, given that, that has to mean prices only have one of two ways to go going forward: Up or Down.
The Fast Home Sales Trend in Redmond
The term “fast home sale” often refers to selling a home within a few weeks (as opposed to a few months). Here in Redmond, the concept is not as outlandish as it may seem. Demand, low inventory, and a looming inflation monster have all but erased the concept of “on-market” from PNW sellers’ vocabulary. Anything that has actually gone to market will see multiple offers within the first week. The timeline helping even the most stubborn homeowners see a “for sale” sign in their yard.
The demand is part of Redmond living. Not only do we have an amazing job outlook and some of the best-established employers in the country, but we also have fantastic schools, small-town vibes, city-style living, and all the natural beauty one could shove into a 20ish square mile radius. Job growth alone could account for market competitiveness–add in desirability and that new tech-job money, and you’ve got yourself a “sold by” sign.
Low inventory, a strong job market, and attractive living are not the only reasons homeowners are seeing the most at-sale profit. They have seemingly very few homes to compete with–the current 2.1-month housing supply is down struggling to keep its head above the 1.8-month reported at the end of April–only heightening the fear of “missing out,” motivating buyers to move quickly and hold out less for competitive concessions.
Inflation rates will prey on homeowner and homebuyer urgency from both sides of the “buy or sell”] aisle. With inflation threatening to raise the cost of available homes on the market, homeownership (and homeownership costs) would rise.
How Inflation Influences Seller Decisions
During inflationary periods, homeowners need to sell, sell, sell. Why? Inflation can create a few dynamics. Rising costs of living mean some people have to liquidate assets to keep up their current lifestyle. Others might worry it’s a now-or-never situation where they need to take advantage of the current housing prices today, because who knows what the value of a dollar, or a house, will be tomorrow. And again, just like with buyers, inflation can create some urgency in sellers. So they need to price competitively. Sure, some sellers might have the luxury of continually relisting a home, but this is probably the exception.
In the Seattle real estate market, in August the average home was on the market for twenty-five days, which seems like a reasonable amount of time to make a decision, but this is only the average. There are plenty of desirable homes that, if priced right, sell immediately. The not-so-secret secret of sellers: price aggressively. In a seller’s market, pricing strategy is as aggressive as the offers sellers see from buyers. To beat out the competition, price your home just a tiny bit below market value, which results in a tiny flurry of offers. And in a weird way, the bidding war and the sense that this house could be sold by tomorrow can often push that under-market-value asking price to above-market-value selling prices.
The Benefits of Selling to We Buy House As Is During Inflation
Today’s market environment is one of rising overall inflation. It’s a scary time to sell a house while repair costs are rising. That’s where We Buy House As Is comes in. People looking to sell a house fast no longer need to worry about repairs. At We Buy House As Is, they won’t need to make them!
• Inflationary environments make the cost of ordinary materials used to repair houses skyrocket.
• Many people do not want to repair their house to SELL it—why repair something just to get rid of it? Why not just sell it AS-IS? • Uncertain and LONG time frames: Many people do not feel comfortable having groups of strangers walking through their house, especially when all of their stuff is still in it.
Tips for Homeowners Considering Selling in an Inflationary Market
Before you sell your home, you need to evaluate the current market. Here are some suggestions on how to do it:Check out the local real estate trends in your area. What are the average home prices in your city? What about the current state of buyer demand? How many days do most homes stay on the market? Begin your research with online real estate platforms like Zillow and Redfin to get an idea of the trends in your local market (city, area, county).
Consult with a local real estate agent to understand any trends and features happening within your specific neighborhood. Then, you can get insight into the potential optimal times to sell your home.
In a fast-paced market, you will need to make your home as attractive and appealing as possible to all potential buyers.Make sure you have great "curb" appeal. You want your home to look great from the outside since a lot of people make their first impressions based on what they see from the outside.
Clear out the inside "clutter" and depersonalize your taste. The majority of homeowners own "stuff" that they will slowly pile up into individual corners of their homes. Moreover, people have their own tastes when it comes to interior decorations. You may want to consider making your home look even more "generic" on the inside so others may visualize what it would look like if they claimed your home as their new "home!" Consider making some cheap renovations. You could paint your home or put up a new fixture. Just be sure that you would at least get your money back on the sale once you start doing all the renovations.
For a more personalized evaluation fit to your needs, you may consider reaching out to We Buy Houses As Is. At We Buy Houses As Is, we have helped many buyers with a range of needs. Whether you are in a rush to sell or if you want to take things slow, we can help you! Do you want to know what you can get for your house at an instant? Or maybe you have wanted to explore as many options as possible available to your open market for sale.
Inflation has left its mark on every corner of the real estate industry with Redmond seeing a sharp increase in the price of homes. As the cost of living keeps climbing, the average homeowner has been affected in multiple ways. With the timer on inflation ticking down, this has encouraged a lot of people to sell their houses quickly before they reach financial difficulties. This has made the selling market more cutthroat, to be quite frank, with a house being seen on the market going in literal minutes for far more than one would ever have budgeted for.
For those hoping to dip their toes into the market, you might have had some hesitations about going out and trying to sell your house the traditional way. Putting your house on a site, be it Zillow or Clever, incurs numerous hidden costs that most real estate agents simply don’t warn you about. And those costs? They can absolutely rack up. Whether you will have to repaint the outside of the house, reconstruct the pool just an inch to the right, or whatever fatal floor the ‘flawless’ house design may have: you will be paying for this out of pocket. Doing this for every open house you end up hosting simply isn’t economically viable. It means you will be trying to pour in as much money as possible in order to hope that one exhibition will always work, and this likely will not be the case. Maybe the first one doesn’t work—and the second, and the third, and the…
For those who want to sell their house without worrying about having to host a single open house, your best bet is the We Buy House As Is service. This service means that you can sell your house exactly as you are. You won’t need to renovate the second or third floors before a specified real estate agent will stand in the living room. Maybe you don’t need to hire a real estate agent at all! If you have a house which you don’t believe will sell, you will still find yourself seeing what the We Buy House As Is service is all about. That is the exact thing about the We Buy House As Is service: there is a no-strings-attached rule. The service will come over and will tell you whether your house has the potential to be sold—we can assure you that you have nothing to worry about. You will likely have your house put up on the market at a competitive price. You will find out what your house can go for on the market by contacting We Buy House As Is and exploring the option of having the We Buy House As Is team come over. You can contact them at the number 206-291-6117. If you find yourself in someone’s shoes who is worried about inflation, you will absolutely want to sell your house. There is something about the service that provides sharp confidence at a time when it is so sorely lacking in today’s market.
We Buy House As Is does exactly that—it buys houses as-is. In a real estate setting where presenting yourself as something that you’re not is prized above all else, Seth and his team with We Buy House As Is deviates just a little bit from the classic house-selling formula. With inflation creating a great sense of déjà vu for buyers and sellers on the property market, using a service like We Buy House As Is will allow you to avoid the most high-pressure environments created by hometown mobility. Despite you successfully selling your house forever, you might still look around and wonder what happens to your house after you finally leave? No doubt—it is an interesting question. One thing is for sure, though: if you are trying to get your house off your hands, Seth and the We Buy House As Is team is the best team you could like to have.