Sell first or buy first?

Every move-up buyer faces the same chicken-and-egg: the new house needs your equity, but the equity is locked in the old house. There’s no universally right order — there’s the right order for your finances, your market, and your appetite for risk.

Sell first: certainty, then a gap

You get: an exact budget (real proceeds, not estimates), a clean offer with no strings, and easy qualification — no double payments in your debt-to-income math.

You risk: the in-between. If the right home doesn’t appear fast, you’re renting, storing furniture, or moving twice. Two softeners: negotiate a rent-back (stay in your sold home as a tenant for a few weeks) or a longer closing on your sale.

Buy first: no gap, more pressure

You get: one move, no temporary housing, and the freedom to wait for the right buyer on your old home afterward.

You risk: carrying two mortgages if the sale drags — and you must qualify with both payments unless your sale closes first. The financing tools:

• Bridge loan — borrows against the old home (usually up to ~80% of value) for 6–12 months. Fast, contingency-free offers; higher rates, and no safety net if the sale stalls.
• HELOC — cheaper and flexible, but open it before you list; lenders won’t open one on a home that’s for sale.
• Buy-before-you-sell programs — a company fronts the purchase and you settle from the sale. Convenient, priced accordingly.

The contingency route

A home-sale contingency lets you buy first without bridge financing — your purchase only fires if your sale closes. It’s the safest structure and the weakest offer: in a hot market, sellers with competing bids usually pass. The mirror image, a home-purchase contingency, protects you when selling — you can cancel if you don’t find the next home in time.

How to actually decide

1. Run the two-payment test. If you couldn’t qualify (or sleep) carrying both mortgages for six months, sell first — done.
2. Read your market. Seller’s market: your old home sells fast — buy first is safer. Buyer’s market: your sale is slow — sell first, then shop with leverage.
3. Price the hassle honestly. Renting for two months is annoying; two mortgages you can’t afford is dangerous. Pick the risk you can absorb.