Spring is a popular time to list a home for sale in Dubai, because most family homes sales occur in the beginning of summer. So naturally, you might have been considering to put your home up on the market. But given the health and economic crisis COVID-19 has initiated, you may be already wondering whether now is a good time to deal with the headache of selling a home. There is a potential danger of having strangers coming in to view your property.
There are advantages and disadvantage to each decision, but here are a few reasons why, or why not, to list a home for sale right now.
Why move forward with your listing?
Mortgage rates and regulations are currently much more flexible for homebuyers due to the implementation of UAE’s Central Bank stimulus package. With that being the case, many people will want to capitalize on the lower interest rates and lower down payment requirements. In this case you may be in a good position to find a buyer easily should you decide to move forward with your home sale.
Despite that there is a probability of COVID-19 slowly but surely spurring a full-blown recession, that hasn’t happened yet. No one knows what the economy will look like three, six, nine, or 12 months from now. If you hold off on listing your home, you run the risk of doing so at a time when the property market as a whole is down and you’re less likely to get the asking price you want.
Why delay your home sale?
The one good reason to postpone the listing of your home is your personal safety. With government authorities warning people to socially distance to avoid exposure to germs, now is really not the time to have people coming in and out of your home, touching your furniture, and breathing in your general vicinity.
Also, it is a good idea to vacate your home while real estate agents are showing it to prospective buyers. But given the self-isolation mandate, there is really nowhere to go, which means picking up and leaving for hour-long stretches at a time is suddenly more complicated.
Finally, many people are worried about their financial prospects even if their income has thus far held steady. It is possible that if you try to sell your home now, you may struggle to find a buyer, or one who will give you the price you’re looking for.
Should you hold off on listing your home?
If you have a specific reason for selling your home, then it could pay to move forward with your listing. Such reason could be relocating to another country. Another reason is struggling with mortgage or post handover payment plan for quite some time, so you may want to get out before you default on your obligations.
On the other hand, if you’re not desperate to sell, then you’re probably better off waiting for a number of reasons, your health and safety being the primary one.
Even if you’re not particularly worried about catching COVID-19, the fact that it changed life as we know it is very disturbing. But the faster you come to terms with it, the better.
*Written by Gergana Mineva, Private Office Advisor at Engel & Volkers Dubai; To contact the author, please email here.
