While spring is the busiest real estate season locally and nationwide, is it really the best time to list your home? We don’t think so. We know from experience there are several benefits to selling your home in the “off season.” Here are four reasons we are encouraging our clients to sell now.
- You’ll face much more competition in the spring– If you drive down a neighborhood street in the spring, you will likely see multiple for sale signs in yards. It’s true that more homes sell in the spring, but that’s because everyone waits until then to sell. Listing your home in the fall or winter means less inventory and more opportunities for your home to stand out. The fewer comparable homes on the market, the higher the probability a buyer will look at your home.
- We get more serious buyers in the fall and winter– Spring brings out the looky loos. Avoid the “just browsing” crowd by listing in the fall or winter. Many homeowners believe that buyers aren’t out there during the fall and winter months, but that’s not the case. Serious buyers are out there 365 days a year.
- Enjoy a quicker transaction during this time of year– Fewer closings during fall and winter means the mortgage lenders have fewer loans to process, attorneys have fewer closings to do, and home inspectors have fewer inspections to complete. All of these factors should lead to a quicker transaction and closing. A quicker transaction will be less stressful for you as the seller.
- Tuscaloosa homes sold in fewer days, for more money in the fall last year– We ran the numbers, and here’s what we found. The average days on market for spring of last year was 77 days. Homes sold 15% faster in the fall selling in 66 days on average. Homes sold for 96.94% of their listing price in spring of last year, while homes sold for 97.19% of their listing price in the fall.
We aren’t saying that spring is a bad time to sell, it’s not; however, thinking you need to wait for spring, is simply not true. Now is a great time to sell your home!