If you’re a St. Louis homeowner getting ready to move, one question usually comes up first: should you buy your next home before you sell, or sell your current house before you start looking?

There’s no single right answer. It depends on your finances, your local market, and your timeline, and a trusted agent can help you weigh all of it. But in a lot of cases right now, selling first puts you in the stronger spot.

Why Selling First Often Wins

Selling is usually the trickier half of a move today, so getting it done first clears your biggest hurdle. That’s especially true right now, since there are more homes for sale than there are buyers in many markets, which means houses are taking longer to sell than they did a year or two ago.

So how does leading with your sale actually pay off? Start with the money.

1. You Won’t Get Stuck Paying Two Mortgages

Buy before you sell, and you could end up carrying two mortgages at once. With homes staying on the market longer these days, that overlap could drag on far past what you planned for, and unexpected repairs on either property could make it even more expensive.

Selling first takes that risk off the table entirely. As the team at Ramsey Solutions has put it, selling your current home before buying the next one is the safer route, since it sidesteps the financial strain and stress of juggling two properties at once.

2. You Can Use Your Equity To Fuel Your Move

One of the biggest perks of selling first is knowing exactly how much money you’re walking away with, and equity is the number that drives that conversation. Equity is basically your house’s value minus what you still owe on your mortgage, and it adds up faster than a lot of owners realize.

According to Realtor.com, homeowners who’ve been in their home for 5 years have roughly $180,000 in equity on average, and those who’ve owned for 6 to 10 years have more than $340,000. After you sell, that money can cover your down payment, or in some cases fund your next home in cash. Knowing that number up front makes it much easier to plan your next move, and to talk through financing options with a local lender before you’re under time pressure.

3. Your Offer Will Be Hard To Pass Up

When your house is already sold, your offer on the next one doesn’t have to be contingent on that sale. In a market where buyers are taking their time, that’s exactly what a seller wants to see.

Picture it from the seller’s side: if their house has been sitting for a while, they’ll gravitate toward the offer most likely to close without a snag. That can also give you room to negotiate, like asking for repairs, since a motivated seller would rather keep things moving than lose you and wait for another offer. Your agent can help you make the most of that leverage.

Is There a Catch?

Selling first has tradeoffs too, and it’s worth weighing the pros and cons with your agent before deciding. The main one: you may need somewhere to stay between closing on your sale and closing on your new place.

The good news is that gap is very manageable with the right plan. Your agent can help negotiate a rent-back, where you stay in your current house for a set time after closing, or line up flexible closing dates to keep the transition smooth.

Bottom Line

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to buying and selling at once. But for a lot of St. Louis homeowners, leading with the sale makes moving easier on both the mind and the wallet.

Connect with a local agent to navigate the selling and buying side of your move, and loop in a St. Louis lender early so your financing is ready to move the moment you’re ready to make an offer.

Your Local St. Louis Mortgage Team

Since 2004, Carlson Mortgage loan officers have helped thousands of St. Louis home buyers find the right loan, including conventional, FHA, VA, and jumbo financing up to $3.5 million. We’re rated the #1 mortgage company on Yelp and top-rated on Zillow, Facebook, and Google.

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