Are you thinking about buying or selling in 2024?
Maybe you want to know how the upcoming election might affect your sale or your purchase. I work primarily in the Santa Cruz County housing market, but the election does affect real estate everywhere in the US. I have been doing this for a long time, and I’ve gotten better about warning buyers and sellers of upcoming events—even minor occurrences that can change the market, like holidays.
How Elections Impact the Real Estate Market
Elections do slow down the market because people pause. It’s not that they don’t want to buy a house or sell a house, as the election doesn’t take everything off the table. Instead, it is simply an attention shift to the election, the news cycle, and everything going on there. When that happens, everything just kind of stops.
However, it is not a scenario where you wrote an offer on November 3rd and wouldn’t get an answer until November 10th because everyone was voting on the 5th. It’s not like that at all. Yet, things tend to slow down.
When to List Your Home for Sale
What I recommend is if you’re going to go on the market, go on the market in September or early October. Our typical sales cycle right now is about 22 to 25 days from list to sell, cutting across all types of listings—good, bad, or other. If you’re looking to purchase, note that if you’re not seeing anything that works for you, it may be closer to the election when sellers choose not to list.
Why Home Prices Rise After an Election
Here is the warning for buyers: prices tend to go up. After the election and an administration is decided upon, you will see real estate change based on that certainty. You may see more sellers put their house on the market because they’re feeling more secure, meaning they’re ready to sell and move.
Industry insiders that I follow say that after the election, prices will go up. Because we know who is going to be in office, people will feel more secure making changes to their home or situation. More buyers will enter the market, which creates higher demand. It doesn’t matter what administration is elected; it is simply about the decision being made.
Sales typically slow down a little bit in November and December, but they may jump up after this election. You may see a few listings come on that a seller originally decided to sell in August but chose to delay until after the election. At that point, they don’t care if it’s Christmas time—they are ready to go.
Tips for Home Buyers in a Slow Market
Sellers get a little bit more motivated when the market is slow and the days click up on the market. While some sellers may be adamant about price and take their home off until next year, the key takeaway is that home prices do tend to rise after an election.
I have seen that happen before, and it comes back to the certainty quotient. I’m not saying it depends on who gets elected. I’m just saying that once something is decided, people feel more confident about the decisions they’re going to make. They feel less unsettled about what’s happening in the current political environment.
If you’re a buyer, this might be the perfect time to jump in. You might see some motivation on a seller’s part that would help you negotiate a price you’re comfortable paying. If you have any more questions about this, give me a call or email.