Buying A Home In The Winter YES? or NO?

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Real Estate

Are there advantages to listing your home in the winter?  Absolutely there are!  Most sellers I meet with in the winter months believe they should wait until spring and I am quick to point out the advantages of listing in the winter.

Inventory is Lower - Because a lot of home sellers are believing this, the inventory on the market is lower in the winter.  In the winter months in an average suburban neighbourhood your two-story home may be the only one on the market.  Jump ahead to the spring and you may find yourself competing with several other two-story homes.  If the motivation of one of those seller's is urgent to get their home sold it may set the mark for the value of all the other two story homes close by.  

If you want to be the big fish in the small pond listing in the winter is a good strategy.

More motivated Buyers - Those shopping in the winter tend to be more qualified buyers.  Often they have to buy a home or they wouldn't be facing the bad weather and the shorter daylight hours.  If you in a sought after neighbourhood that has a high turnover selling in the winter may also get you a premium price because the choices are limited.  The spring market brings out hoards of people that have been sitting in the house during those cold Sundays all winter and what is their favourite thing to do on a Sunday?  Open houses are a great way to check out what's new in the market for new construction or a chance to compare your home to the neighbours selling down the road

Market is flooded - We are no the saying "as inventory goes up, prices go down" Many people wait to list their home in the spring along and find themselves competing with a lot of other properties.  This is when motivation comes into play with the competing properties setting values lower than you would like because buyers can play one seller off against another.  It's a shame but unfortunately happens especially if you are in an area flooded with new construction. Are you certain you want to face a market flooded with freshly listed homes? 

Spring is not a Guarantee - There’s no guarantee the spring or summer will be a better housing market. A variety of factors can influence home values. A lot of factors can affect the prices, amount of inventory as we've said, interest rates or more in tune right now the fear of interest rates rising and of course economic.  The announcement of a plant closing that employs a lot of local people could send the immediate market into a tailspin. The market in HRM has been very hard to read in the last three spring markets.  

Serious homebuyers shop twelve months a year.  Are there more buyers in the spring? Yes, but there are also more lookie loos.  There are certain buyers that want to see the green lawn, foundation and roof shingles without the hindrance of snow-laden properties.  Your house may be exactly what they are looking for and when it pops up on the market in February it may stimulate their urgency to buy.

If you serious and motivated about selling, the winter is as good a time The ultimate decision is yours, but it is my duty as a professional to give you the best possible advice I can, based on my experience and the statistics about buyers in winter months.

Give our team a call if you are thinking of selling and would like more information.  We also offer complimentary market analysis if you are thinking of selling in the next twelve months including a personal assessment of do's and don'ts to get your home ready.  Of course, always in a relaxed, no obligations visit.