When sellers tell me they’re thinking about waiting to sell their house, I almost never push back emotionally.
Waiting can be reasonable.
But the biggest mistake sellers make isn’t waiting itself.
It’s waiting without actually running the numbers.
Waiting feels passive. Like you’re doing nothing.
But financially, waiting is one of the most active decisions you can make.
And most sellers don’t realize that until it’s already cost them money.
Why waiting feels safe
Most sellers who decide to wait fall into one of three categories:
- They believe prices will go up
- They’re worried about selling too early
- Or they’re reacting to headlines instead of spreadsheets
Waiting feels safe because it feels like inaction.
But every month you wait, you’re making a financial bet, whether you realize it or not.
You’re betting that the market will move in your favor more than your costs are moving against you.
The holding cost math most sellers skip
This is where things usually get overlooked.
Let’s talk real numbers.
Say your monthly costs look something like this:
- $2,400 for the mortgage
- $350 for taxes and insurance
That’s about $2,750 per month just to hold the property.
Now, let’s say you wait six months.
Six months of waiting costs over $16,000.
That money is gone regardless of what the market does.
Whether prices go up, go down, or stay flat, those holding costs don’t pause while you wait.
The appreciation assumption
This is usually where sellers push back.
They’ll say, “But prices are going up.”
Sometimes they are.
Let’s assume the market improves by 3% over six months.
On a $400,000 house, that’s about $12,000 in appreciation.
So you spent $16,000 waiting… to gain $12,000.
That’s not strategy.
That’s math not being fully accounted for.
Hope is not a financial plan.
It’s more of a vibe.
The risk most sellers ignore
Waiting doesn’t just have costs.
It also increases risk.
- Vacant homes often cost more to insure
- Deferred maintenance gets worse, not better
- Buyer demand can change quickly
- Markets don’t move in straight lines
They move in windows.
We see sellers wait for the “next upswing,” only to miss the window they were already in.
Scenario A vs. Scenario B
When sellers are deciding whether to wait or sell, it often comes down to two paths.
Scenario A: Wait and list later
- Six months of holding costs
- Uncertain market direction
- Higher stress
- More exposure to change
Scenario B: Sell now with certainty
- Known price
- Known timeline
- Fewer variables
- Less exposure to market shifts
Neither option is automatically right.
But only one of them lets you control the variables.
What we see in real life
At Fast Ready Offer, we talk to homeowners every week who are trying to decide whether to wait or sell their house now.
Many of them are afraid of regret.
Ironically, waiting often creates the regret they were trying to avoid.
By the time they sell, they’ve spent more money, lost leverage, and added stress they didn’t need.
Not because waiting was “wrong”, but because it was done blindly.
A seller coaching moment
Waiting isn’t wrong.
Waiting without clarity is.
If you want to wait, do it intentionally.
Run the numbers.
Know your monthly holding costs.
Understand your break-even point.
That way, if you do decide to sell later, whether you list traditionally or work with a company that buys houses, you’re doing it from a place of control, not pressure.
Calm close
We’ve put together a simple breakdown at Fast Ready Offer that helps sellers understand what waiting actually costs for their specific situation.
No pressure.
No obligation.
Just clarity.