Five questions worth asking before you decide.

“Maybe we’ll just wait until the market gets better.”

We are hearing some version of this from a lot of homeowners right now.

And it is an understandable thought. Buyers have more choice, homes are taking longer to sell in some segments and prices have softened from previous highs.

But before deciding to wait, there is another question worth asking:

What exactly are you waiting for?

Trying to perfectly time the bottom — or the top — of a real estate market is almost impossible. We usually only recognize those moments after they have passed.

So rather than trying to predict what the market may do six months from now, I think there are some better questions to ask.

Why are you thinking about moving?

If the idea of selling is being driven by a change in your life — downsizing, needing more space, a job change, family circumstances, finances or simply wanting something different — it is worth considering how important that move is to you.

Real estate decisions are not made on a spreadsheet alone.

Your life has a timeline too.

Waiting may absolutely make sense, but putting a plan on hold indefinitely in the hope of a better market is not always the best answer either.

What are you buying next?

This is one of the most important parts of the equation and one homeowners sometimes overlook.

If you are selling and buying in the same market, a softer market can work both ways.

You may receive less for your current home than you would have at the height of a strong seller’s market, but you may also have more choice, less competition and greater negotiating power when you buy.

The number that matters is not always simply what you sell for.

It is the difference between what you sell for and what you have to pay for the next home.

For someone moving up, downsizing or changing neighbourhoods, that gap can sometimes matter far more than the sale price on its own.

What is happening with homes like yours?

Real estate is extraordinarily local.

The market for a renovated two-bedroom condo in Lower Lonsdale can behave very differently from the market for a detached home elsewhere on the North Shore.

Before deciding whether to sell now or wait, I would want to know:

• What similar homes are currently for sale?

• What has actually sold recently?

• How long are those homes taking to sell?

• Have sellers had to reduce their prices?

• What are buyers choosing — and what are they passing over?

• Where would your home realistically sit amongst those options?

That tells us far more than a headline about “the market.”

Buyers today have more opportunity to compare. As a result, the difference between the homes they respond to and those they pass over has become much more noticeable.

Condition, presentation and especially price matter.

What would have to improve for waiting to be worthwhile?

This is perhaps the most useful question of all.

Are you waiting for prices to rise?

For interest rates to fall?

For there to be fewer competing listings?

For your own circumstances to change?

Once you define what you are actually waiting for, it becomes much easier to decide whether waiting is a strategy — or simply uncertainty.

The market may improve six months from now. It may also remain relatively flat, or your particular type of property may behave differently from the broader market.

We simply do not know.

What we can know is what your home is likely worth today, what you would be competing against, what your next purchase might cost and whether the overall move works for you.

So, should you sell now?

For some people, yes.

For others, I would tell them to wait.

The answer depends on your property, your financial position, what you hope to buy next and, most importantly, why you are considering moving in the first place.

My job is not to convince you that now is always the right time to sell.

It is to give you a clear picture of what your home is likely worth today, what is happening with comparable properties and what the opportunities and risks look like on both sides of your move.

From there, you can make a decision based on good information rather than trying to predict the market.

And sometimes, after looking at all of that, the right advice really is:

Not yet.