Is now the best time to sell your home? That’s an intensely personal question that depends on a number of factors -- many of them beyond your control.
In 2006, some sellers might have been wondering if they should have waited another year and netted even more profit … but today we know that those sellers would have kicked themselves for making that decision.
Major economic shifts aside, there are ways you can manipulate your home’s sale to best benefit you and your family as you move into a bigger place or downsize to better fit your lifestyle. When you’re trying to target the most opportune time to put your home on the market, it helps to consider all of the factors involved and control what you can to maximize your price and profit.
The annual real estate doldrums …
Most advice you’ll hear about selling will be different, but there’s one time of year that most experts believe you should avoid when it comes to listing a home: wintertime.
Between the holiday season and, in some parts of the country, the weather, there aren’t too many buyers incentivized to disrupt their lives and move into a new home, which means they aren’t really thinking about shopping for one, either -- at least in some markets.
And fewer buyers means less of a chance that your home will be one of the homes that sells.
Winter also isn’t a very fun time of year to be a seller, logistically speaking. You might think you’ll get out of yard work (and you’ll be right), but you’ll probably be cleaning up after visitors tracking rain and snow through your just-cleaned house while they tour it in exchange.
… And the peak selling season
Just like many experts will warn you against winter, springtime is commonly considered one of the best times of the year to sell a home.
Buyers are interested in making a fresh start, yards look lush and green, days are starting to get longer, and tax season gives some buyers a leap ahead on any down payment savings.
So does that mean you should sell in the springtime? Maybe … but be aware that other sellers are going to have the same idea. There will be competition in the form of more homes available on the market. Those buyers also might have the options available to be more picky in the home they end up buying, and that could mean they demand changes to yours before paying for it -- or pass altogether.
Timing isn’t everything
Even if you think you’ve nailed the absolute best time to sell your home and you’ve done all you can repair-wise to maximize your chances, there’s one big mistake that could shoot all your efforts right in the foot: Pricing your home incorrectly when you first list it.
Some sellers don’t think this is the huge deal that it really (really!) is.
Serious buyers sign up to property watch lists and get an alert as soon as a home is listed on the MLS. Most of the buyers who could buy your home are going to see its listing within the first 48 hours of that listing being “live.”
Unless you overpriced it, of course. Then those buyers won’t see it until you reduce the price down to a more realistic level -- and you might think that the price is a starting point of negotiation, but a qualified buyer is searching for “homes I am qualified to buy right now,” not “homes I am not qualified to buy right now but that might drop into my price range later.
So you get one big chance to make your home’s big debut in front of its buyers. And if you set the price too high (or too low, for that matter), you’ve blown it.
That’s why the best way to maximize your home’s price is to talk to a qualified agent, who can help you figure it out -- and why the best time to sell is when you’re ready.
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