I get the question all the time, “Blair, isn’t the Summer the best time to sell my house.” My answer is that in many ways, Summers are better for BBQing than they are for home selling.
Think of what you have been doing since June. Let me guess, the kids are out of school, so you are busy planning activities to keep them busy, all the while trying to manage your life in and outside your home. Oh, and there is the little thing called family vacations that have to be planned for and taken. Bottom line, buyers are scattered in the Summertime and you need focused buyers to have a strong market.
Buyers:
When are the buyers most focused you may ask? My experience is that people tend to make the decision to purchase a home on an annual basis. As in, “honey, next year is when we should get serious and move.” People then move through the holiday season, spending time with family and friends, definitely not focused on buying a house. Besides, inventory is low and there aren’t a lot of choices in the market. Once January hits, buyers start to think to themselves that they better get serious, but weekends tend to be filled with football playoffs (Go Hawks!), and getting back into the grove with work.
Suddenly however, the Super Bowl comes and goes and buyers are left with all kinds of time on their hands. If you have decided that this was the year to make the purchase, what better to do with your time than to visit open houses. And so begins the home search.
Sellers:
Most people that I talk to think that the springtime, April and May, is the best time to put your home on the market. Buyers want to have their kids in school by Fall afterall, and Springtime is when the weather starts to get nice. So, like buyers, sellers come out of the holiday and football season and begin to take the next few months to get their home in tip top market shape. The problem is, that the homes won’t actually be ready for market until April and the Buyers are already out looking in February.
If I were Selling My Home:
I would take advantage of this disconnect between the increased buyer activity and the delayed listing activity described above. As a seller you want a captive audience and as little competition as possible. This takes place in February and March and this is EXACTLY when I would sell my home if I could pick any time of the year to do so.
Don’t take my word for it. The above dynamic is best illustrated by numbers. The low supply and increasing demand in the first quarter of the year consistently makes this the time of year when the majority of home appreciation takes place. Home appreciation in not annually symmetric. More takes place in the first quarter than any other quarter of the year.
So, if you are thinking of selling your home, start getting it ready for market as the calendar year comes to a close. You will be glad you did, and maybe it will be an excuse to avoid some of those holiday parties that you don’t really want to go to anyway.
Be Real,
Blair