Want to Make a Killing on Your Home? Now’s the Time to Sell

Advertising Disclosure: When you buy something by clicking links on our site, we may earn a small commission, but it never affects the products or services we recommend.

A couple holds a "Sold" sign in front of their home
michaeljung / Shutterstock.com

To say it’s a seller’s market would be an understatement.

Now might be the best time in years to sell your home, thanks to a combination of swelling prices and sales fueled by demand.

In March, existing-home sales increased by 4.4 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors’ latest monthly statistics. That made March the strongest month of existing-home sales since February 2007.

The median price for existing homes in March was $236,400. That reflects a 6.8 percent increase from one year earlier — and marks the 61st consecutive month of year-over-year increases.

Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors chief economist, notes:

“Bolstered by strong consumer confidence and underlying demand, home sales are up convincingly from a year ago nationally and in all four major regions despite the fact that buying a home has gotten more expensive over the past year.”

Yun predicts that sales will go up as long as housing inventory goes up.

David Fogg, a real estate agent with Keller Williams in Burbank, California, tells CNBC:

“I’ve been selling real estate for 25 years and this is the strongest seller’s market I have ever seen in my entire real estate career. A lot of our sellers are optimistically pricing their homes in today’s market, and I have to say in most cases we’re getting the home sold anyway.”

Demand is so great that, even in spite of high prices, buyer bidding wars have become par for the course, CNBC reports.

How to cut costs when selling your home

Just because you might make a small fortune selling your house these days, though, doesn’t mean you should accept a real estate agent’s fees at face value.

As we explain further in “How to Save Thousands When Selling Your Home,” shortages of homes for sale as well as technology can help you reduce the high commissions that real estate agents traditionally charge. One survey found that sellers saved an average of about $3,700.

Of course, no matter what the housing market currently looks like, potential home sellers can almost always boost their profit by investing a little time or money into their home before showing it. For help with that, check out:

What do you make of rising home prices and sales? Share your thoughts below or on Facebook.

Get smarter with your money!

Want the best money-news and tips to help you make more and spend less? Then sign up for the free Money Talks Newsletter to receive daily updates of personal finance news and advice, delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for our free newsletter today.