With the housing market on an upswing, is now the right time to put your house on the market?

A recent survey by Redfin found 38% of home sellers believe now is a good time to sell, up from 34% last quarter and an enormous improvement from 22% in the fourth quarter of last year.

It is no secret that a lot of homeowners who want to sell their homes have been waiting (for several years in some cases) for a better housing market before listing their house.  Mortgage rates are relatively low, inventories are at their lowest level in years, and confidence in the housing market is the highest it’s been since before the mortgage crisis.

Sounds like you should consider selling, right? The short answer is “maybe”, but there are several factors to consider in determining whether it is the right time to sell for you.

Location: What’s going on in your local market? Before deciding to put your home on the market, it is very important to contact a local realtor (or a few) in order to see what’s happening where you live.

Maybe smaller homes are selling but larger, more expensive homes are sitting on the market for six months or more.  Maybe there is a high amount of inventory of homes like yours on the market, which generally creates more pressure to lower the asking price. In many coastal areas, markets are at a standstill due to the ongoing drama regarding flood insurance.

On the other hand, maybe your particular type of home is very popular in the area you live in.  Maybe condos are in high demand where you live.  Maybe a new large employer opened up and homes nearby are in high demand.

The point is there is a tremendous variety of real estate markets in the United States, and there is no way to determine the level of demand for a particular property just by looking at national statistics

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/09/is-now-the-right-time-to-sell-your-home.aspx