Winter's Coming... Do I list now?

This posting is for those home sellers and Realtor's who are NORTH of the Mason Dixon Line... I'm not sure how weather and the seasons affect homes in the south, I won't even venture to guess.

That's my disclosure...

There are several factors that you must take into consideration before you list your home at this time of the year. 1. Seasonally, the fall and winter months tend to have the LEAST amount of activity before the new year. 2. With the holidays around the corner, most people aren't thinking about buying real estate. 3. What is your motivation for selling now?

Here's what I think, If you put your home on the market now, you will get less showings. You will get less activity on the websites, you have LESS of a chance of selling because market times INCREASE during this time of year. However, anyone who comes to look at your home is MORE serious then at ANY other time of the year. No one likes to just go out and look at homes for the fun of it. If a buyer is looking at your home now, they HAVE to buy something.

So, if you have very few buyers but very serious buyers, you NEED to have a SERIOUS motivation to move. You can not "test the market". You have to be in a much better condition at a much better price than your competition to even have a chance of selling. Inventory of homes is up, so your home has to stand out like a beacon among all of the other homes.

If you can wait to sell your home, wait. If you can't wait, price your home extremely agressively and allow EVERY potential buyer in the door. Buyers are more serious now and the competition is tough!

Until next time...