So, you feel like it’s time to move, but you keep asking yourself, Should I sell my house now? After all, there’s a lot of uncertainty out there in the housing market, and selling your home is a big decision.

The fact that you’re asking questions is a good thing—it means you’re thinking about your situation and determined to make an educated decision. So, let’s get you some answers to those questions.

SHOULD I SELL MY HOUSE NOW, OR WAIT?

Just like anything else that gets bought and sold, housing prices in the U.S. (or anywhere else) depend on supply and demand. When supply is high and demand is low, prices go down. When supply is low and demand is high, prices go up.

That’s what led to the craziness we saw in the market in 2021. A ton of people wanted to buy a house, but there weren’t a whole lot of houses for sale. So, prices skyrocketed.

These days, the supply situation has gotten better. Across the nation, there were 244,000 more homes up for sale in December 2022 than there were in December 2021—a growth of 54.7%. But even though the supply situation has improved, it’s still an issue—the number of homes for sale in December 2022 was 38.2% lower than the average from 2017–2019.1

What does all that mean? Well, for one, housing prices are going up. Yes, they’ve dipped a bit for the last few months, but they’re still up year over year, and they’re going to keep going up (just like they always have) because the supply is still low.2

But because the supply is increasing, the growth of house prices across the nation is much slower than in 2021, and it will stay that way—there’s no big spike coming in one direction or the other.

Here’s what you need to remember, though: You should never decide to sell your house (or not sell) based on the state of the housing market alone. Market conditions are only part of the picture—and they’re not even the most important. Your personal situation needs to take center stage. The best time to sell a house is when the market and your individual situation line up.