As a real estate agent I am often asked the question “Should I sell now, or should I waint until January?”   Many sellers believe that Spring is the best time to sell. This is based on the fact that Spring and Summer months are generally a little more active months in the real estate market and with more recorded sales, sellers believe they will have a better chance of selling there home.  January is considered to be the seasonal turning point. But while more homes sell during this time of year due to heightened buyer activity, there is a problem that arrises, in the Spring and Summer months there exists a much greater number of homes offered for sale: More buyers and more competition among listings.

I would never suggest that someone wait until January to offer their home for sale, while there may not be as many buyers out there during the holiday season, the buyers that are shopping are extremely serious. (If the weren’t they would be at walmart buying Christmas presents)  Most if not all of the casual home shoppers are busy with other commitments, leaving only the truly serious buyers out there looking. December is also a great time to sell because many people have found memories of being home during the holidays that can give buyers an emoconal reason to buyer during the holiday season.   For me personally, December is usually my busiest real estate month.

Two final thoughts, the market in Southern Utah is correcting from our recent highs do you really want to wait another 2 to 3 months to list your home?  How much more could you lose by deciding to wait rather then listing and selling your home now!   Seasonal factors are only important in the context of all other factors being relatively equal.   Also what if you miss the serious home buyer (December Home Buyers Are Traditional Serious Buyers as stated above) because you decided to wait until January or later!

If you are interested in Selling your home please contact me.   I would be happy to anwser any questions you may have.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 7th, 2006 at 7:57 am and is filed under Home Selling Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.