After a period of historic lows, mortgage rates have (at the time of this writing) been rising in the U.S. for some time. The fixed mortgage rate has been inching up over the last couple of years and it seems pretty clear that it will continue to do so for some time yet. There’s no doubt that this has serious implications for anybody currently involved in the property market – buyers and sellers alike.

It’s well-understood that this presents some unique challenges for buyers, but perhaps less well understood is what this means for those in the position of selling a home. For buyers, the central dilemma is whether to sit tight and hope for a reverse in the trend or to purchase as quickly as possible in the hope that a house can be acquired before the rate rises by too much.

CityHome Collective, a real estate brokerage out of SLC, say that the mortgage question is quite unique in the property world in that it is not a trend which approximates to the usual “what’s good for buyers is bad for sellers and vice versa” phenomenon. In fact, rising mortgage rates present challenges for sellers too. There’s certainly a way of effectively dealing with the problem butthis takes planning, foresight, and the forthrightness to act when necessary. As is the case with buyers, the question of timing is key. Many sellers on the market right now are looking at rising mortgage rates and wondering “should I sell my home now?”

The Effects of Rising Mortgage Rates

It would be nice if the situation were simple and there was a clear single way of dealing with rising mortgage rates as a seller. However, this is just not the case. The way to tackle the problem is twofold: first, you should certainly seek the advice of a professional realtor, as any solutions needs to be tailored to the specifics of your local housing market (which only a relator has in-depth knowledge about). The second thing to do is simply learnabout all the different effects that rising mortgages have in general and see which are most pertinent to your particular case. Here they are:

Prices Pushed Down

Certainly not good for sellers, rising mortgage rates are known to push prices down. The good news is that this doesn’t happen dramatically overnight and is usually most pronounced towards the end of the year. You should keep this firmly in mind when deciding when to sell your home.

A Less Competitive Market

In periods of rising mortgage rates, phenomena such as above-asking price offers, all cash offers, and bidding wars become less common. This is not great news for sellers, but it does mean you will be able to find a new home more cheaply and it does make the market less volatile in general.

Slower Price Growth

Price growth has been near astronomical in recent years, but rising mortgage rates are set to change that. Lower prices are not necessarily a sure thing, but we can certainly expect price growth to slow now.

An Increase in Demand

As buyers become more anxious to purchase a home before mortgage rates price it out of their reach, we can expect the demand for houses to increase. This is good news for sellers and means that finding buyers will not be as difficult.

Such are the myriad and intersecting effects that rising mortgage rates have on the housing market. It is vital to understand them and what they mean for you. A good realtor is therefore vital – but it’s always wise to educate yourself as well.