Ready to sell, but are you ready to move?

If you want to sell your house, real estate agents say there are benefits to putting it on the market before Mother’s Day.

Most people prefer to move during the summer months, which means they’re looking seriously now. The weeks between Easter and Mother’s Day are the local market’s “sweet spot,” when buyer interest peaks and sellers tend to get the highest prices for their properties, said Windermere Realtor Marianne Bornhoft.

Over the years, she’s also seen what she calls the “Bloomsday effect.”

Spokane’s cherished foot race attracts about 50,000 people to the city on the first Sunday in May. Some of the visitors inevitablity think about moving here.

“I’ve sold more homes to out-of-town buyers the week after Bloomsday,” Bornhoft said.

But current market conditions pose a dilemma for sellers. Should you put your home up for sale if you haven’t found a replacement?

Spokane County’s inventory of homes for sale is down about 28 percent from last spring. Agents say they’re encountering clients who want to put their homes on the market, but worry about finding another home to purchase.

“It’s a difficult market,” said Matt Chapman, Chapman Real Estate’s managing broker. “Even if you are working with sellers, your sellers have to find something to buy.”

Sellers have some options, agents said. One of them is a clause in the sales contract, which says the sale is dependent upon the sellers finding a home of their choice within a certain number of days.

Typically, there’s a 10-day to two-week deadline, so the prospective buyer doesn’t get strung along. If the sellers haven’t found a house, they don’t have to sell.

Tom Hormel, a broker with Re/Max Inland Northwest, starts working early with clients to identify options for their next home.

“Typically, we’ve found a few things that might work for them,” he said.

He’s also suggested that clients find a place to rent for six months, so they have time to look at properties without feeling rushed.

“They’ve got their money in the bank,” Hormel said. “They have to move twice, and they have to be comfortable with that. But I’d rather have them move twice than make a rash decision.”

Chapman encourages his clients to weigh cost versus convenience while making their decision. People with young children may not want to move twice.

“Just because you could get an extra $10,000 to $15,000 by selling now, it may not be worth it to you,” he said.

One of Chapman’s clients doesn’t want to sell his house until the school year ends. “I told him we’d list it then, because it will sell right away,” he said.

In a typical year, competition for homes levels off as the year progresses, Chapman said. Some people prefer to look for homes after the spring frenzy passes.

Bornhoft, the Windermere Realtor, tells homeowners to trust their instinct.

In Washington, sellers are reponsible for paying the state’s real estate excise tax, and they often pay both parties closing costs. So, getting the best purchase price for your home is important, she said.

“My advice is that if you think it’s time to sell, it’s time to sell,” Bornhoft said. “You can find a temporary house, and buy when the market isn’t so hot. ”