So often we hear that homeowners want to wait until the spring to sell their homes. After all, in the spring the grass is greener, the flowers are blooming, the curb appeal is prettier and the weather is the most comfortable for home shopping, so surely this is the best time to sell, right? Well, while this is all true, it is also true is that so many others are thinking just like you.
What sellers don't realize when they want to wait until the spring is that their neighbor is contemplating the same strategy. In the spring the market becomes saturated, and a saturated market often becomes a buyers market. The more competition you have, the more likely you are to have to negotiate more aggressively to beat the competition, often resulting in a lower sales price. The more homes on the market, the less traffic there is coming to view yours.
The spring is often not enough lead time for those that wish to be out by summer. It takes several weeks or months to find the right buyer. This coupled with the process of the mortgage application, new funding guidelines, title searches and all of the necessary items needed to close the transaction, summer may very well have passed you by.
The goal of many to move in the summer is due in part to the fact that those with children would like to be settled into new school districts, which starts early September. It is also a great time for teachers and others whose careers allow them more flexibility in the summer months to make this move.
According to successful Realtors, the advice is to give yourself enough lead time to make this transaction as comfortable as possible. List your home in the winter, when others are waiting until spring. The most serious of shoppers will come out when the weather is at its worst, and after all, isn't it the serious shoppers we want? Listing this winter will give you the extra needed time to market, find the right buyer and prepare to move in the summer months ahead.
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