A strong market can create opportunity, but the order of your decisions matters more than ever.
If you need to sell and buy around the same time, the biggest question is which step should come first. My rule of thumb is to plan both moves together from the start because Lafayette, IN still leans toward sellers, and a typical sale took just 12 days over the previous 30 days.
Last month, Lafayette, IN posted a seller's market with 1.39 months of supply, a typical sold price of $269,200, and offers averaging 99.7% of asking. At the same time, the typical asking price for active homes reached $384,900, which tells me current listings and closed sales are not sitting in the same place.
That matters when you are coordinating one sale with one purchase. If you sell first without a search plan, you may feel pressed on the buy side. If you shop first without a realistic sale strategy, you can overestimate your flexibility. I would treat those as one decision, not two, because the pace in Lafayette, IN does not leave much room for loose timing or vague numbers.
Set your sale target and purchase ceiling at the same time. Build a short list of acceptable outcomes before your home goes live. Keep your showing schedule, offer strategy, and moving timeline tied to one written plan. That kind of preparation reduces surprises fast.
