One of the questions most home wonders ask when it's time to sell is “should I buy or sell first” and the simple answer is, it depends.  There are risks and rewards for either strategy, and it depends on several important factors.  Here are some things to think about before you decide.

How is the Durham Real Estate Market?

Is it a buyers or sellers market, or maybe it's balanced.  Often in a hot sellers market people will buy a home first so they know where they will be moving to.  But if the market turns and you can’t sell your home before you close on your new house you will need to bridge finance and will have to own, and pay the mortgage, on 2 homes for a short period of time.

What are you selling?

Is your Durham home a hot commodity? Even in a hot market, not all homes are hot.  Maybe you own a condo, but freehold is in high demand, or you own a small condo downtown and that market is slow. 

Days On Market

What are the average days on market for your type of Durham home?  If a similar home to yours is listed, how long would it take to sell?  If you know this you can negotiate a longer close on the new property to allow you time to sell.

Are You Ready?

Is your Durham home ready to sell, do you need to paint, declutter or stage?  If it is going to take you time to get your home ready for market this may allow for a market change to occur.  Ideally you will always buy and sell in the same market.

What Are You Looking For

Is the next home you are looking for hard to find?  Is it in an area where few listings come up?  Are you flexible with location?  If there are usually many options to buy you can sell with confidence knowing you can find your next home.

How Flexible Is Your Budget

If you are buying a Durham home at the high end of your budget, and there's little wiggle room, what would you do if you had to sell for a lower price than you had hoped for?  Can you hold 2 homes if needed?  Will you have enough money for closing costs?

Other Accommodation

Do you have somewhere you can stay temporarily?  Friends, family or even AirBNB?  If you sold and did not find anywhere in time you will need a back up plan.

How Is Your Tolerance For Risk?

There are risks and rewards for each strategy.  The bigger financial risk is to buy first, but can be mitigated by having your how ready for market so you can just green light it. Selling first is lower risk because the worst case scenario is you have to find temporary digs.  But this can be mitigated by a longer close on the house you're buying.  It also allows you to budget more easily as you know for a fact what your home will sell for. 

Hopefully this give you an idea of things to consider, If you want to discuss this in greater detail message us now...