Gone are the days of historically low mortgage interest rates and buyers waiving all concessions that defined the pandemic market for two years. These days, while the market is still in favor of sellers due to record-low inventory, high mortgage rates have placed affordability constraints on buyers, making them more concerned about their purchasing decisions. So, if you’re selling a home in 2024, you’ll need a new strategy to get the most equity out of your most valuable asset. Fortunately, you don’t have to navigate the market alone. We’ve surveyed HomeLight’s top-performing agents nationwide and harnessed their collective expertise to create a guide on how to market your house for sale. When you hire the right Realtor, that professional will collaborate with you to develop a data-driven marketing plan that appeals specifically to buyers in your area. Whether you’re partnering with a top agent or selling a house by owner, these are the marketing priorities you’ll need to consider to market your house in 2024. When it comes to market trends, mortgage interest rates are the elephant in the room. After two years of historically low rates, the Federal Reserve raised mortgage interest rates eleven times since March 2022 to combat inflation. But in mid December 2023, the Fed kept interest rates steady. Today’s 6%-7%+ rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage pales in comparison to the 18.45% Americans paid in 1981. Still, high mortgage rates and inflation have prompted many buyers to make their purchasing decisions more cautiously. According to HomeLight’s research, the market started showing signs of leveling off beginning in the summer of 2022. At the end of 2023, 50% of top agents characterized their local housing market as a seller’s market from an inventory perspective, but this is by no means a resurgence of the strong seller’s market we saw in 2022. “Interest rates, high prices, and soaring insurance costs are significantly reducing buyer demand,” top agent Julee Patterson of Roseville, California, shared during HomeLight’s latest survey. “Sellers that overprice to ‘leave room to negotiate’ are doing a huge disservice to themselves. Buyer demand is down, so we need to make every listing as attractive as possible both with price and preparation from day one.” Despite the changing market, Suzanne Macnab, a coastal Maryland agent with 39 years of experience, says now is a good time to sell a home. “While houses are sitting on the market a little longer,” she says, “prices have stabilized and inventory is low.” And inventory is projected to remain low because pandemic purchasers who financed at historically low rates will likely hold on to their properties. Those homebuyers may not be able to afford to purchase an equivalent or upper-echelon property because of increasing rates and home prices. In addition, investors and sellers with the luxury of timing the market cashed out when rates were low and demand was high. Since the field is less crowded, your home has space to shine and capture the attention of the right buyers. Macnab says the market is optimal for sellers who are looking to downsize — especially those with enough equity to pay cash for their next home. Because fewer homes are available, she says the market also favors sellers who have a well-maintained home with an open floor plan that is appropriately priced.Understand the market
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