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Housing shortage, multiple offers, higher than listing price offers, low inventory… If you have been watching the local market, you have seen these phrases. And if you have been participating in the market, you may have experienced the sometimes heartbreaking outcome of missing out on the home of your dreams. 

Our local market is seeing the lowest inventory in many years! Enough so that it has become a sellers’ market and Fort Wayne has even landed on Realtor.com’s list of top 20 hottest real estate markets. If you are thinking about selling your home, this is a great time to do so. 

One of the biggest fears for sellers is that they will sell their house but not have one to purchase. This can be tough, but can be handled by creating a contingency that, subject to finding suitable housing, an extended closing date can be given to make more time to find the right property, or being prepared to rent for a period of time. It is possible to find a buyer who is flexible on a closing date or possession date, giving time to find the right property or even build a new home. 

It may not be fun or the most comfortable way, but interim temporary housing should be considered. If you are willing to do this, building is an excellent way to have your cake and eat it, too. Building a new home is more complicated and it can be more stressful. Some obvious upsides, however, are that when it is complete, you have things the way you want them, new components, low maintenance and probably higher efficiency than an existing home depending on age. 

A Realtor can be helpful in pulling this together and reducing your stress throughout the building process. It is important to have your own exclusive representation – a person whose sole job is to represent you. Experience is key and the knowledge a professional can pass on to a client can be invaluable. The best part is this does not cost the buyer anything additional, as builders incorporate broker fees into their marketing budgets. 

It is likely that it will be a while before the market balances with a more even number of buyers and houses for sale. With talk of rising interest rates, building may be your best option to lock in a good price for your existing home.

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