If you’re a current homeowner who’s thinking about making a move, you’ll have to decide whether to sell your existing home first or risk carrying two homes at once.

Selling first means you’ll know exactly how much you’ll be able to put towards your next home.

It also allows you to present a much stronger offer as it won’t be conditional on the sale of your current home.

Finally, selling first helps eliminate the air of desperation that both buyers and agents can sense.

Once your home sells though, the clock starts ticking. You’ll only have a limited amount of time to find the perfect place. You don’t want to overpay or settle for something less than ideal so you may have to be somewhat flexible when it comes to moving dates.

If you’re looking for a very specific home that only comes up occasionally, you may have to buy first and arrange a longer closing to allow time for your current home to sell. To avoid carrying both homes at once, your house should be priced competitively from the start in order to generate maximum interest.

Local market conditions are also an important factor so it’s important to determine whether it’s a buyer’s market or a seller’s market and whether or not prices are rising or falling.

In a buyer’s market where there’s a wide selection, people usually prefer to sell first so they have a bit of breathing room.

In a seller’s market where good homes are hard to find and sell quickly, you may want to buy first in order to lock down your dream home.

There’s really no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to buying first vs. selling first as it depends on your personal circumstances, your financial situation and local market conditions.

Whatever your thoughts may be, it’s important to seek professional advice from a knowledgeable, local real estate agent as market conditions can change rapidly.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you ever have any questions about the Fernie real estate market, or real estate in general – it’d be great to hear from you!