Should I Wait Until Spring to Sell?
Monday, November 14, 2011
Here’s a quick quiz:
What is one reason sellers wait until the spring to put their home on the market?
A.) They don’t want to be inconvenienced during the holidays.
B.) They believe they will see more potential buyers and get a higher price for their house.
C.) They don’t want people tracking snow through their house.
D.) All of the above.
If you answered “D,” you are correct, and while “conventional” wisdom would say, “Wait until spring,”, we have some reasons why it is the SMART choice to list sooner than later.
The current market has been anything but “conventional,” and this coming spring is going to add another curveball in the direction that prices will take.
Usually, spring markets favor the seller because there is an increased demand for housing that often outpaces any increase in supply. The reason that this spring will be different is because the supply of houses to the market is going to dramatically increase as a flood of foreclosed properties are released by the banks. This increase in inventory will outweigh any demand and drive housing prices down. RealtyTrac, in their latest foreclosure report, explained:
The impact? Prices will decrease, and here are what some of the experts are predicting the impact will be:
While the inconvenience of listing your property over the holidays may be, well, inconvenient, you may pay a much higher price for your convenience if you wait until the spring.
If you know of anyone who is on the fence about selling now, please introduce us. We’d love to get to know them and are committed to helping you (and those you know) Buy. Sell. Live. SMART!
What is one reason sellers wait until the spring to put their home on the market?
A.) They don’t want to be inconvenienced during the holidays.
B.) They believe they will see more potential buyers and get a higher price for their house.
C.) They don’t want people tracking snow through their house.
D.) All of the above.
If you answered “D,” you are correct, and while “conventional” wisdom would say, “Wait until spring,”, we have some reasons why it is the SMART choice to list sooner than later.
The current market has been anything but “conventional,” and this coming spring is going to add another curveball in the direction that prices will take.
Usually, spring markets favor the seller because there is an increased demand for housing that often outpaces any increase in supply. The reason that this spring will be different is because the supply of houses to the market is going to dramatically increase as a flood of foreclosed properties are released by the banks. This increase in inventory will outweigh any demand and drive housing prices down. RealtyTrac, in their latest foreclosure report, explained:
“U.S. foreclosure activity has been mired down since October of last year, when the robo-signing controversy sparked a flurry of investigations into lender foreclosure procedures and paperwork. While foreclosure activity in September and the third quarter continued to register well below levels from a year ago, there is evidence that this temporary downward trend is about to change direction, with foreclosure activity slowly beginning to ramp back up.
The impact? Prices will decrease, and here are what some of the experts are predicting the impact will be:
- Zillow predicts that we will not see a bottom in prices until the first quarter of 2012.
- S&P believes that prices will drop 5% within the next few months.
- JP Morgan Chase predicts that a depreciation of 6-7% over the next 6 months will occur.
- Barclays predicts a drop in prices of 7% by the end of the first quarter of 2012.
While the inconvenience of listing your property over the holidays may be, well, inconvenient, you may pay a much higher price for your convenience if you wait until the spring.
If you know of anyone who is on the fence about selling now, please introduce us. We’d love to get to know them and are committed to helping you (and those you know) Buy. Sell. Live. SMART!
Seth & Alyce
