Making the decision to sell your home is not an easy one.
Sometimes there’s one big reason to sell, but at other times the tipping point to decide to sell depends on a combination of factors.
Here are five signs that it might be time to put your home on the market.
1. You’ve outgrown your property
People outgrow their homes in several ways. Maybe you’ve outgrown it by having children, those children have grown bigger and you’d like more space, or they’ve left home and you want to downsize.
If your home no longer suits your needs then it may be time to sell.
2. Upkeep costs rising
It can be costly to maintain a home, particularly when the home is older. Perhaps it needs a renovation, modernising or alterations but you don’t have the time or energy to dedicate to it. Moving on can be an alternative.
This also applies to apartments if major works are planned and you don’t want to invest in associated increased strata fees and levies.
3. Financial shifts
Financial circumstances change over the course of our lives in unexpected ways. Perhaps you’re feeling the pinch or suddenly have more money in your wallet than you’d expected. This may be your trigger to consider selling your home to upgrade or downsize.
And sometimes your property may have increased in value to the point where it’s worthwhile using the capital gain to your advantage to assist you with financial changes.
4. Location
Location is everything when it comes to property. Perhaps your home is in an area that no longer suits your lifestyle, work or family. Maybe your suburb no longer offers what you want, or you’d rather just be somewhere else.
Areas also change, and development or redevelopment plans may offer you previously unimaginable opportunities to capitalise on new demand for properties in your area.
5. The property market
It’s also worth considering timing when you’re toying with the idea of selling your property. Where is the local property market in its cycle? A hot market may be a good sign that now is the time to sell and make the most of buyer competition before a possible slow down in the market – particularly if you’re planning on downsizing to free up some cash for retirement. Or you may want to time your sale to upgrade in a flatter market, when the jump to the next price bracket is less of a challenge than it would be in a rising market.
