Real Estate Dilemma: Good Time to Sell, Terrible Time to Buy

Real estate agents may be thinking these are both the best and worst of times to be in the market.

Eighty-nine percent of agents in a new survey said now was a good time sell a home, up from 83% in 2015, the highest percentage the four-year-old poll has recorded.

At the same time, only 34% thought the time was right to buy a home, way down from 45% last year and the lowest percentage since 2012.

Redfin, a real estate brokerage, polled 836 agents in 38 states and Washington, D.C., earlier this month.

Researchers asked agents why potential sellers were reluctant to list their homes. Forty-five percent said they worried about not finding a replacement home.

Sixteen percent said they were waiting for a price increase, and a mere 1% said they were afraid their home would not sell.

“Many of my prospective home-selling clients start the process by shopping for a replacement home first before they pull the trigger on listing their home,” Redfin real estate agent Sabrina Booth said in the report.

“Once they experience how competitive the market is for homebuyers, it gives them pause, and some choose not to sell.”

One in three agents surveyed said low inventory was the biggest challenge sellers currently faced, up from one in six agents surveyed just four months ago.