Selling is slow here and I advise my sellers to start looking when they list with me. However, if they find something right off, I make sure they know our submitting an offer contingent on their sale will not guarantee they will get the property. It is a balancing act that always seems to have many variables. I run into buyers that have not even listed their house yet and found the perfect house, now what? If their lender would do a bridge loan or something to enable them to buy before they sell-depends on what the parties want to do and can arrange. But always a balancing act.

I recently had buyers who haven't been able to sell their home, which had no mortgage, in another city.  So, I advised them to get a home equity loan on the old home and use the money to buy the new place.  They did, and bought the new one.  Now they are still trying to sell the old one.

When they sell the old home, the home equity loan will be paid off at closing.  Meanwhile they have the new place to live in.