For months, home sellers have been flying high. For many, an extreme shortage of properties has meant multiple bids -- with pandemic-weary buyers especially keen on acquiring spacious havens in suburbia and exurbia. Meanwhile, prices have been steadily rising.

The hot seller’s market has created a high level of confidence among homeowners, according to economists at Zillow.com, the national real estate firm. They report that nearly 40% of those planning to sell in the next three years expect a more favorable price if they wait.

But consumer advocates caution that the torrid seller’s market could cool in the U.S., at least somewhat, after the first of the year. Mortgage rates are predicted to remain low. Yet due to economic uncertainties, home values could plateau or possibly even moderate.

“If you truly plan to sell your house soon, I wouldn’t postpone on the hope of still higher prices. No one knows for sure, but by late next year, there might be fewer eager buyers,” says Eric Tyson, a personal finance expert and coauthor of “House Selling for Dummies.”

One indication of slightly diminished interest in homebuying came just days ago, when the Mortgage Bankers Association (mba.org) reported on the continuing, multi-week slump in applications for new home loans.

“Inadequate housing supply is putting upward pressure on home prices and is impacting affordability -- especially for first-time buyers and lower-income buyers,” says Joel Kan, who oversees the association’s economic forecasting.

Tyson urges those planning their timing to take into account their own lifestyle needs and preferences.

“No one has a crystal ball, so don’t stay up all night trying to figure out the perfect season to sell. Just discuss the matter with a trusted listing agent and then decide what works for you,” he says.

Here are a few other pointers for sellers:

-- Try to sell when few homes are available in your area.

If your neighborhood is experiencing a significant shortage in available homes, you may wish to go forward with a planned sale within 30 days or so, says Ashley Richardson, a veteran real estate agent affiliated with the Residential Real Estate Council (crs.com).

“You’re always better off being the only one out there because a dearth of competition can drive prices upward,” says Richardson, who sells homes in Maryland through the Long & Foster real estate company.

Are you unsure about the supply-demand ratio for real estate in your neighborhood? If so, Richardson says the most efficient way to obtain information on local inventory levels is to request statistics from the listing agent you’ve chosen.

“You need to know whether your market is strengthening or weakening for sellers. If it’s weakening, you may wish to move forward with your sale as promptly as you reasonably can,” she says.

-- Delay until repairs and decluttering are complete.

Do you have a seriously stained carpet that needs replacement? Is there peeling paint on your front door? Are you still sorting through the contents of an overstuffed bookshelf?

Make sure all this work is done before giving your agent approval to list your place. She says buyers typically show little interest in any home where renovation work is incomplete.

Likewise, a cluttered house can be very hard to market to prospects, who often underestimate the size of rooms ridden with excess furniture and cardboard boxes. Also, closets crammed full of clothes and shoes make a bad impression.

“When your closets are crowded, people think you have less storage than you really do,” she says.

-- Avoid the weekend to launch your listing.

Richardson believes no one should obsess about the day of the week their agent lists their property in the Multiple Listing Service. But she says it’s better to avoid having it appear on a Saturday or Sunday.

“During the workweek, buyers monitor their email from the office for new listings sent them by their agent. But on weekends, they’re often too busy running errands and driving kids around to pay much attention to email,” Richardson says.

In her opinion, the ideal time for sellers to have property listed is a weekday, preferably early in the week. Then if the place still catches the interest of buyers when they view it online or drive by, they’ll have sufficient time to plan a tour of the interior.

“In reality, most serious home shoppers search with buyers’ agents. So it's prudent to consider the rhythm of their work when choosing the best day to hit the market,” Richardson says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

Every autumn, home sales typically plummet as families focus on the upcoming winter holidays.

But this year the seasonal decline is greatly diminished due to COVID-19 and the widespread quest for larger living space to accommodate home-based work and schooling. Indeed, pending home sales registered only a minor decline of 2.2% in September, after four consecutive months of robust growth.

“The demand for homebuying remains super strong, even with a slight monthly pullback in September,” says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (www.nar.realtor).

Buyers are thrilled by the availability of low mortgage rates -- as low as 3% or less for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Yet many are extraordinarily frustrated by two interlocking factors: a severe shortage of inventory and galloping price increases.

Real estate specialists don’t necessarily advise that buyers postpone their purchase plans until 2021, given the likelihood that demand will remain strong next year. Rather, they suggest that this year’s holiday season could be as good a time as any for buyers to move forward in a high-demand market.

“There’s zero point in delaying. People selling houses in November and December are highly motivated to move, and hence will usually negotiate in good faith,” says Michael Crowley, a real estate broker in the field since 1992.

Crowley tells the true story of one client who just now acted decisively in a competitive market to beat out rival bidders.

The client -- a 36-year-old physician determined to buy a house near her own place for her elderly parents --used an “escalation clause” in her offer to ensure she’d have the winning bid for the small blue split-entry house her folks picked out.

“This doctor won against four other competitors by offering to top any other offer up to a finite amount. Ultimately, this escalation clause cost her just $2,000 over her original bid. Because her parents put her through medical school, she was extremely pleased to thank them with the house they wanted,” says Crowley, a past president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (naeba.org).

Still, he only recommends that clients attempt the escalation-clause strategy if they’re found a place they truly covet.

“It’s a funny thing, but people will sometimes fight to outdo other bidders for a property they don’t really like. You never want to fight for a lemon just for the sake of winning,” he says.

Here are a few other tips for buyers:

-- Inform yourself on local property values before you bid.

Though there are many neighborhoods where would-be buyers outnumber willing sellers, real estate specialists caution buyers against generalizations.

“It goes without saying that all real estate is local. That means the national picture is irrelevant, and your local market could be dragging when others are soaring,” says Eve Alexander, a veteran real estate broker who specializes in luxury properties.

She urges buyers to educate themselves on local property trends in the area of their choice before venturing a bid, particularly if their bid has an escalator clause attached.

“For comparisons, try to identify five to 10 comparable properties that have sold recently in the area where you’re looking,” Alexander says.

If you’re seeking to buy in a neighborhood with widely varied properties, it’s helpful to compare the homes on your list on a price-per-square-foot basis. Then adjust for differences in size and home features, such as garage size.

After estimating the current market value of the home you wish to buy, it’s time to decide how aggressive an offer you want to make. Alexander says that will depend on how enamored you are with the home.

“You won’t want to push the limits if you’ve fallen in love with the property and feel it’s a ‘do or die’ situation,” she says.

On the other hand, you might choose to make a lower offer if there are other available homes in the area that would meet your needs equally well.

“It’s always easier to negotiate without emotion if you can find second- and third-choice houses you also like,” Alexander says.

Once you’ve made a firm decision on your bid, she recommends you attach a brief but friendly letter that explains your position and draws on comparable sales data to support it.

-- Reject comparables from “market testers.”

Eric Tyson, co-author of “Home Buying for Dummies,” says in every market there are a few sellers who won’t budge from an unrealistically high price.

“It’s a given that some supposed sellers aren’t really motivated to make a fair deal,” he says.

How can you tell which sellers are merely testing the market and will never negotiate seriously with anyone who bids less than their lofty list price?

Tyson recommends you ask your agent to find out if previous offers have come in on the property you want. If the owners have already rebuffed one or more decent offers without so much as a counterbid, this indicates they’ll probably resist reason with you, too.

The good news for buyers is that information on past offers is often readily available through the listing agent.

“Agents are inherently outgoing people. Some have very loose lips and will talk candidly about their clients’ negotiating position and whether it’s worth your while to do a low bid,” he says.

-- Try to discover the sellers’ equity position.

Are you seriously interested in a home but have yet to submit an offer on it? If so, Alexander says it’s wise to inform yourself on the sellers’ ownership stake before you bid. As she says, those with more equity have more potential room for compromise.

“What you’re looking for are insights into the mindset of the sellers,” Alexander says.

One source of clues on the owners’ equity position can be found by searching local government land records. At the minimum, these records (usually available online) should tell you when the current owners purchased the property and the original price they paid.

“If the sellers brought the house a couple of decades ago and haven’t refinanced, they should have a lot more equity,” Alexander says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

In the midst of the pandemic, those with strong and sustainable incomes are smashing records for home-buying in appealing areas outside metro cores.

“Professionals able to work from anywhere basically view this entire economic disruption as an opportunity to live wherever they want,” says Glenn Kelman, the CEO of Redfin, the national real estate brokerage.

To get a bigger house for the money, these buyers, many of them the parents of young children, are willing to uproot and even change states to obtain a plush domain with loads of square footage. In some cases, they’re even considering resort communities.

“People are buying vacation homes and then taking a permanent vacation, where they’re working from those houses,” Kelman says.

Obviously, those working in fields suffering layoffs -- such as hospitality, travel and retail sales -- are in no position to buy a home these days. But some in sustainable white-collar industries are highly motivated to purchase a larger place.

“This level of demand is just insane,” Kelman says.

Adding to the sense of urgency for many buyers is the ascent of home prices, coupled with beguilingly low mortgage rates. They’re undaunted by the fact that desirable properties are in extremely short supply.

“Affordability is at the heart of this year’s noticeable migration from high-cost downtowns toward suburbs, small and midsized towns, and even vacation destinations,” says George Ratiu, a senior economist for Realtor.com, the national home listing service.

It’s true your money will typically buy more house if you choose a place many miles from a city. Yet real estate specialists urge home shoppers to thoroughly investigate any outlying area far from where they currently live before they commit.

“No house is an island. You could buy a splendid house in an area that looks appealing on the surface. But if you land in a community where neighbors rarely socialize, that could be an unhappy outcome,” says Mark Nash, a real estate analyst and author of “1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home.”

He says some buyers mistakenly assume that picking a community with expensive houses will yield them a warm, welcoming neighborhood. But that’s not always the case. “You could move to a tiny condo and find wonderfully interactive neighbors. Or you could buy your way into a super-fancy neighborhood and encounter snobby people who refuse to interact,” Nash says.

Here are few pointers for buyers:

-- Don’t rule out a brand-new subdivision or condo complex.

Are you weighing a move to a new development, but fear it would be unfriendly? If so, Nash suggests you learn more about the community before automatically rejecting it.

Granted, many condo buildings are populated by young professionals or two-income families who have extremely demanding daily schedules, even during a pandemic, that keep them busy for long hours. Still, many who move to new developments are motivated to build lasting friendships with neighbors.

“They’re open to making new friends because they have few established relationships,” Nash says.

-- Look into the social dynamics of any neighborhood you’re considering.

Buyers who want a friendly, interactive community are advised to spend time there in search of clues about how people relate.

“Even coveted neighborhoods can have real issues. It only takes a couple of unpleasant, busybody residents to spoil the mood in the whole neighborhood. That’s particularly likely if they’re always on social media undercutting other people,” Nash says.

During the pandemic, you might be reluctant to go door-to-door. But even adhering to social distancing guidelines, you could still walk through a community on a weekend to chat with neighbors who are out in their yards.

-- Go visit a community you’re considering more than once.

Nash recommends that those with a strong interest in a target community visit at varied hours to look for patterns of human behavior.

“Drive through the neighborhood four times in a day -- during the morning, at midafternoon, at dinnertime and again at 11 p.m. Notice whether people are relating to each other or staying inside their homes nearly all of the time,” he says.

In some neighborhoods, residents are superficially friendly yet don’t build in-depth relationships with each other.

“Perhaps you’ll see people out walking their dogs who smile and wave to each other. But they seem too busy to stop and communicate,” Nash says.

-- Always remember that friendships are reciprocal.

Those with a support structure within the immediate radius of their home have many advantages. Not only can they borrow the cup of sugar they need to finish a batch of cookies, but they can also count on help in an emergency.

Still, as Nash says, moving to a friendly neighborhood won’t guarantee you develop a strong support structure -- unless you invest time and energy in creating positive relationships that are genuinely give-and-take. You need to interact during times of celebration as well as need.

“All good relationships, and that includes relationships with fellow residents, must be reciprocal if they are to be strong and enduring,” he says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)