Spring home buying season is heating up and thousands of prospective homebuyers are projected to enter the housing market by placing their current homes up for sale.
According to the company’s latest Home Seller study, there are now roughly 12.1 million homeowners preparing to sell their homes. Of this total, about 16% aim to sell within the next 18 months.
Although their motivations for selling are mixed, NerdWallet claims that some sellers attribute recent market changes for their move.
“Homeowners can see that we’re moving away from a strong seller’s market in many areas. So, their feelings and motivations are shifting, too,” NerdWallet Home Expert Holden Lewis said.
In fact, 44% of those planning to sell in the next 18 months say recent shifts in the housing market have them selling sooner than initially planned, according to NerdWallet.
And with so many buyers flooding the market, data suggests that other homeowners are taking note and joining their neighbors in selling.
“Nearly half of all homeowners (45%) say there are more homes for buyers to choose from in their communities now than there were a year ago,” NerdWallet writes. “In some places, a perceived increase in available homes for buyers could be spurring other owners to enter the market, selling one home for another. Nearly 3 in 5 (58%) of those planning to sell in the next 18 months say there are more homes available for buyers to pick from in their areas.”
This intensified competition has led homeowners to heighten their home’s curb appeal, as NerdWallet indicates that 75% homeowners wanting to sell within the next 18 months plan to spend money on major repairs and renovations.
“Homeowners preparing to sell should make their renovations count, spending where they’re most likely to increase home value and get a good return on their home improvement investments,” Lewis said.
Lewis isn’t wrong, as NerdWallet’s findings highlight that many homeowners are changing their home value projections.
“Roughly three-fourths (76%) of all homeowners say their expectations of how their home value would change in the coming two years have changed over the past year,” NerdWallet writes. “About 2 in 5 (38%) say they believe their home value will rise within the next two years, but they previously didn’t think it would increase or were unsure.”
Despite their optimism, NerdWallet’s report discovered that those planning to sell within the next 18 months are “more realistic” about the possibility of accepting a less than satisfying offer.
According to the company’s data, 84% of those planning to sell in the next 18 months say they would be willing to accept an offer less than asking price if their home was taking longer than expected to sell. Of those, 58% said they would be willing to accept 10% or more below asking price.
NOTE: NerdWallet’s report is based on survey data collected by The Harris Poll from April 11-15, 2019. This report utilized the survey responses of 1,438 U.S. homeowners aged 18 and older.
