In a research study conducted in the early 2000's, a Canadian professor found that homes where the seller was “motivated” took 15 percent longer to sell, while houses listed as “handyman specials” flew off the market in half the time.
“It surprised even me,” said researcher Paul Anglin, who teaches real-estate and housing trends at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.
If you know a homeowner who's thinking of putting their home on the market just to see what they can get for it, you may want to encourage them to think twice.
With recent home prices up 100% and more, some homeowners have put their homes up for sale just to see what happens. They don't really mean to sell--unless they get outrageous offers. They're doing it "for the fun of it."
Here's a question I've been hearing a lot this year... "I have a lot of equity in my home. I'm thinking about selling and putting that money in the bank before the market goes down again. Should I?"
Of course the answer is, it depends. You still need to live somewhere, so are you planning to rent, or buy a cheaper home? It makes sense to rent if you'll be moving out of the area (because you'd be selling soon anyway). It also makes sense to rent if you can rent significantly cheaper than you can buy, and then you invest the difference. Or it makes sense to rent if you plan to share a home with someone else.