Is the urban legend real of not to list your home in the Winter? Let’s do some fact checking, and you can be the judge.
Low Inventory = Low Competition
A lot of people think it’s not best to list their home in the Winter, and because of this, inventory is typically lower in these cold months. Less inventory means less competition. There are still buyers in these months, and they are normally highly motivated, because let’s be real, no one is out ‘browsing’ at houses through snow drifts. Over the past 3 years in the Greater St. John’s area, there’s an average of ~840 homes sold in the winter months (between Dec. 01 - Mar. 31), that’s 210 sales/month, so there are defiantly still people buying homes.
Typically it is a ‘calmer’ market. Less buyers = less viewings, but motivated buyers = higher quality viewings. Not everyone is built to accommodate 20+ viewings in couple day span, due to things such as work schedules, mobility issues, stress, etc, so this ‘calmer’ environment may be more favorable for those individuals who want the process to happen a little slower.
Cold Weather Features
If you have features that are designed to help in cold temps, guess when the best time to showcase them would be? WINTER! Some examples might be heated driveway, wood burning fireplace/stove, mudroom, low heating costs, heated floors, permanent Christmas lights/electrical outlets in the eves, etc.
On the flip side, maybe you have some features that aren’t so flattering. Not everyone has Botanical Gardens for a yard. If this is you, the Spring/Summer market may be more challenging if majority of your competition have their grounds more manicured than yours. The goal isn’t to hide, but take the focus off that.
High Motivation
Sometimes you just need to sell now, and you don’t have time to wait. If you’ve out grown your home and need to move your family, a less hectic move is most likely in your favor. Easier on ‘the head’, less viewings = less disruption to your life and family, less competition looking at the houses you’re looking at. Maybe you’re going through other life events, such as divorce, death, financial strain, etc. I want to reassure everyone reading this, don’t be scared that your home won’t sell in Winter, because houses don’t sell in the winter- that’s just non sense.
Some relocation’s happen during winter months where people are sent by their companies/corporate/military/similar on house hunting trips (HHT). On these trips, often time the buyers have to purchase a property within a small window, which is commonly 2-5 days.
So there’s the rundown on pro’s of listing/selling your real estate in Winter months. It’s not for everyone, but for some people, it’s actually the ideal time to sell. If you feel the winter months might be your time to shine, please reach out to discuss!
-Josh