2011 May Be the Year to Sell Your Home

If you’re contemplating selling your home, this may be your year. Just be sure you have one to move into before you let it go. Believe it or not, the country is facing a possible shortage of new home construction this year.

When the economy came to a halt a few years ago, builders were stuck with a lot of empty homes. They sold those homes at low prices just to recover their costs. Many builders went out of business completely, and those still in business stopped building spec homes.

According to a national housing report released by Harvard University in 2010, new home production has decreased by 70 percent since 2005. The report says only half a million homes were started in 2009 and not many more in 2010. For the first time since World War II, demand for housing in our country may be higher than the available supply.

This is good news for with homes up for sale. For the first time in over a decade, you won’t have to compete with new home construction to sell your house. I remember shopping for my home 12   years ago. My husband and I must have looked at a dozen homes in the town we now live in, but those older homes in our price range just could not compete with the idea of building our own home and choosing everything down to the color of the bathroom tile. It was cheaper to build a new home than it was to buy an existing home. The tide may finally be turning.

The downside is that it won’t be a true seller’s market. Property values are still down in many parts of the country, and that affects how much you will get for your home. Foreclosures in your neighborhood also have a negative impact on your home’s value, as well as the number of homes converted to HUD homes. A real estate agent can help you determine the best price for selling your home.

Existing home sales were up 2.7 percent last month nationwide. If January is any indication of what to expect moving forward, 2011 may be your year.