If moving is somewhere on your radar for 2027, it may feel a little early to start thinking about it.
It’s not.
In fact, some of the easiest moves I help clients make begin months before a house ever goes on the market or we schedule the first showing.
You don’t need to start packing boxes. You don’t need to know exactly where you’re moving. And you certainly don’t need to have every detail figured out.
But there are a few things you can start doing now that can make your eventual move much easier—and potentially save you money, stress, and rushed decisions along the way.
1. Start With the Bigger Question: Why Do You Want to Move?
Before worrying about interest rates, home values, or what’s currently for sale, think about what you want your next home to do differently for you.
Maybe you need more space.
Maybe you’re tired of maintaining space you no longer use.
Perhaps you want acreage, a first-floor primary suite, a shorter commute, a different community, or a home that better fits the lifestyle you see yourself living over the next five or ten years.
Your “why” matters because it helps guide everything else.
I work with plenty of homeowners who know their current home isn’t quite right anymore but aren’t sure what comes next. That’s actually a very normal place to begin.
2. Find Out What Your Current Home May Be Worth
If you own a home, your equity may play a major role in what you can do next.
Online estimates can give you a rough idea, but they don’t know that you remodeled the kitchen, replaced the roof, added a pole barn, finished the basement, or that one neighborhood can perform very differently from another just a few streets away.
A real estate equity review can give you a more realistic starting point.
Once you have an idea of what your home may sell for—and approximately what you could walk away with after selling—you can start making much more informed decisions about your next move.
And no, getting an updated value doesn’t mean you have to list your house.
Sometimes information is simply information.
3. Talk to a Lender Earlier Than You Think You Need To
If you’ll be financing your next home, don’t wait until you find the perfect house to talk with a lender.
A good lender can help you understand what different purchase prices might look like, how the equity from your current home could factor into your purchase, and whether there are financial moves you should—or shouldn’t—make over the next several months.
This is especially important if you’re trying to coordinate selling one home and buying another.
You may have more options than you realize, and understanding those options early gives you time to make decisions rather than react to circumstances.
4. Look at Your Home Through a Buyer’s Eyes
You don’t need to renovate your entire house before selling it.
Actually, please don’t.
One of the biggest mistakes homeowners can make is spending thousands of dollars on improvements without knowing whether those improvements are likely to matter to buyers.
Instead, start making a list.
What needs repaired? What feels dated? Which rooms need paint? What have you been meaning to fix for the last three years?
Then, before taking on expensive projects, talk with your Realtor about what is worth doing for your particular home and price range.
Sometimes a few relatively simple changes can make a noticeable difference. Other times, that big renovation you were considering may not make financial sense before selling.
5. Start Decluttering Slowly
This is probably the least exciting item on the list, but it may be one of the most useful.
If you’ve lived in your home for 10, 20, or 30 years, you’ve accumulated things.
Lots of things.
Trying to sort through all of it two weeks before listing your house is overwhelming. Doing a little at a time over several months is completely different.
Pick one closet, one cabinet, or one storage area at a time.
Keep what you use and love. Donate what someone else could use. Toss what truly needs to go.
Even if your plans change and you decide not to move next year, you’ll probably still be glad you did it.
6. Start Learning What Your Next Home Actually Costs
This is where dreaming meets reality—in a good way.
If you think you want to move to a certain community, start watching homes there. If you’re considering downsizing, see what smaller homes with the features you want actually cost. If you’re thinking about building, begin researching land, builders, construction financing, and realistic timelines.
You may discover that your original plan makes perfect sense.
Or you may discover a different option that fits you even better.
The goal right now isn’t necessarily to find the house. It’s to understand your choices.
7. Think About Your Timing Before You Need a Timeline
Selling and buying at the same time can feel like a giant game of dominoes.
Do you sell first?
Buy first?
Make your purchase contingent on selling?
Move into temporary housing?
Build while staying in your current home?
There isn’t one answer that works for everyone.
Your finances, risk tolerance, local market, family situation, and next-home plans all matter. Working through those possibilities early allows us to build a strategy around your life instead of forcing your life around a real estate transaction.
You Don’t Have to Be Ready to Move to Start Planning
One of the things I wish more homeowners knew is that you don’t have to call me and say, “Jenny, we’re ready to list.”
You can call and say:
“We think we might move next year, but we have no idea where to start.”
Those are some of my favorite conversations.
We can look at your current home, talk about your equity, discuss what you want next, identify anything worth doing before you sell, and begin building a timeline.
Maybe you move in February.
Maybe it’s next fall.
Maybe we talk through everything and you decide staying where you are makes the most sense for another year.
The point of planning early isn’t to rush the move.
It’s to give yourself more choices when the time comes.
Thinking About a Move in 2027?
If a move is even possibly part of your plans for next year, now is a great time to start the conversation. Visit 123SoldTeam.com to connect with me, or reach out directly. We can start with a simple conversation about where you are now, where you’d like to go, and what would need to happen to get you there.
No pressure to list. No need to have it all figured out.
Just a plan for what comes next.
Jennifer MacLeod
Associate Broker & Realtor
Licensed in Michigan & Ohio
Wiens & Roth Real Estate
