Should we wait until Spring to list?

Many of my clients who decide that they are now ready to put their homes up for sale often ask me, “Should we wait until the spring to list our home since the winter months are so dead?”  Unequivocally, I reply that winter months are anything but dead.  It’s a fabulous time to sell because people need to buy houses for so many different reasons and in many different seasons.

In Essex County from October 2011 to today 5,110 single family homes have sold.  1,266 of them were sold during the months of November 2011 through February 2012:  that’s 25% of all sold homes…..during the “dead” months!!   In addition to the fact that buyers need to buy homes throughout the year there is another indisputable fact that supports putting your home on the market now.  That fact is that fewer homes are listed at this time of year.  Therefore, the number of homes competing for the active home buyers is down.  The law of supply versus demand will dictate that home sales during the winter will remain constant.

Naturally, my sellers worry about potential buyers tramping through their beautiful homes with muddy, snowy boots.  Smart realtors always have plenty of paper booties available so that buyers can simply slip them over their shoes.  If you have no paper booties, buyers are usually very understanding when asked to take off their shoes and leave them by the door.

My fall/winter sellers are finishing up their pre-listing “to-do” lists that we discuss during my listing presentation.  I’m preparing my marketing and media blitz and together we are gearing up for a fantastic selling season!

 

 

Where’s the Sweet Spot?

Being a native of Boston’s North Shore and having been a Realtor for more than a decade, pricing properties correctly should be like taking candy from a baby.   And in this economy,  pricing homes properly sounds just like that….a lot of screaming and crying from many sellers.

It’s one of the most fascinating challenges in real estate:  finding the sweet spot.  The sweet spot is the list price that will trigger the market to respond to the property being marketed with an acceptable offer.  Simply put, the sweet spot is market’s definition of worthiness.

For a Realtor and her selling clients, it’s important to never forget “the market”.   The real estate market, just like a market place where there are wares to be bought and sold, merchants and buyers, is comprised of many different and fluctuating factors: interest rates, unemployment, inventory, buyer demand, school ratings, even local weather conditions.   What the real estate market is not: it is not what you paid for your home, it is not what you need to net from the sale of your home, it is not what your neighbor thinks your home is worth.

The market is hot right now because sellers are listening to and hearing their trusted real estate professionals.   What we are telling them is this:  you cannot wait until the “market” recovers, because THIS IS THE MARKET and this will be the market for years and years to come.

So if you are in the mindset of selling your home….make sure your realtor finds your home’s sweet spot and before you know it, you’ll be moving on to the next chapter in your life.