Tuesday, November 29, 2011

"Should I Take My Home Off the Market for the Winter?"

A common question posed to me at this time of the year is whether sellers should pull their homes off the market for the winter. I also get asked whether potential sellers should hold off listing their homes until spring. The simple answer is that it is subjective and depends on many factors. 

There is no question that in the Northeast, activity decreases around Thanksgiving and increases again when the winter begins to wind down. Many sellers see no benefit to marketing a home during a period of relatively low activity. Moreover, winter is a difficult time of year to keep a home in good showing condition and is inconvenient given the weather, holidays, etc. These are valid considerations, but many people fail to see the upside.

Those buyers and sellers that are in the market during the dead of winter are serious and motivated. You seldom see a family taking a Sunday drive to random open houses in 20-degree weather and snow on the ground. As a general rule, sellers do not test the market at this time of year. Therefore, with serious, motivated parties on both sides, there is more of a chance of getting a deal done. Even better for sellers is the fact that not only are the buyers motivated, but there are fewer homes from which to chose.

Were I looking to sell my home at this time of year, I would weigh the various factors as discussed above along with the conditions specific to my local market and personal factors. What I would never do is make the decision based solely on the fact that there is generally less activity in the winter than in the spring.

As an aside, there was a time when the market history in the multi-listing service was easily manipulated. Taking a property off the market for a bit - or changing listing agencies - gave the appearance of less overall time on the market. (There is a bit of a stigma against homes that sit on the market for a long time). However, at least in the system used in my area, you can now see the full property history and, therefore, this "benefit" has been substantially diminished.

As always, your thoughts and questions are welcome (john@jw-realestate.com or comment here).