Monday Market Update: Seller Strategy – Start Early

When to start thinking about selling.

We know that summer has barely ended, but for those thinking of selling in spring 2026 – the time to plan is now. Realtor.com® recently published an article titled ‘Want To Sell Your Home? Start Early: What Today’s Market Means for Longtime Owners,’ and we encourage you to read it in full here. For the purposes of today’s blog, we wanted to share a brief summary and have added a few local data points to support the thought process.

4 Reasons To Build A Seller Strategy Now

#1: Almost half of today’s homeowners have lived in their homes for 15+ years. 25% of homeowners have lived in them for over 25 years. Planning for where to move next requires long-term thought & careful consideration (plus no doubt - some clean out!).

#2: Sellers (especially in Silicon Valley) still have the ‘upper hand’ so to speak. Nationwide inventory is 4.1 months, and in San Mateo County it is even less at 1.5 months. The average days on market is less than a month at 25, and most homes are selling above asking locally with a sales-to-list-price ratio of 102%.

#3: Equity has doubled, tripled and even quadrupled for many longtime owners. You may have more wealth in your home than you realize (Realtor.com® states that those who purchased a median priced home in 2005 have seen their property’s value increase by around 90%). Sellers need time to get multiple custom home valuations and decide how to re-invest or roll over the potential sales proceeds. Think outside the box including second homes, vacation homes, multi-generational homes and lifestyle choices.

#4: Once you know where you want to go and how to spend your ROI, the preparation starts. From choosing an agent to deciding what home repairs make the most ‘cents’ and sense, identifying your team, your timeline and your top updates start today.

For more San Mateo County sales data and statistics, visit the SAMCAR Market Data page here.

To read more from Realtor.com®, click here.

Cheers to making plans that work for you,

Bobbi

Bobbi Decker
DRE#00607999

Broker Associate, Bobbi Decker & Associates
650.346.5352 cell
650.577.3127 efax
www.bobbidecker.com
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