Real Estate Sales Heat Up During Spring Market

An active listing and selling time is upon us: Spring Market. The exact peak of this period tends to vary each year due to weather, interest rates, and Wall Street bonuses. Many buyers will try to make a purchase in April-May-June which would allow them to close and move June and July and be ready for school in September. One of the busiest closing days is June 30. (Tip: schedule your closing for before or after June 30 if you want to find a mover and have your attorney available).

A slower but still active period begins July 4. August is absolutely vacation month with many buyers, sellers, realtors, attorneys and contractors away with their families on vacation soaking up the sun, traveling and visiting. It is a time to re-charge their energy and souls.

The next active buying and selling period is mid-September through Thanksgiving. The market then slows down for the holidays and the next cycle begins again after Super Bowl. If a homeowner is an avid sports fan, they really do not want to leave their home and flat screen TV for a public open house or a buyer showing appointment on a Sunday in January. Hence, we tend to go from touchdowns and chili to staging, window cleaning and listing homes for sale as we start the Spring Market all over again.

This is just a general overview of our market. Remember that homes are bought and sold ALL year long. When you are transferred or have to move, it does not matter what the calendar says. It often is better NOT to buy or sell during the peak times due to competition.  For a seller, the more homes that are on the market, the better yours needs to show and be priced to receive a contract. For a buyer, you might be able to negotiate better rather than competing against other buyers for the same home.

Seller’s always worry if they are “missing the market” if they are not ready to list. List your home ONLY when it is cleared out, repairs done, painted, staged and ready to come on the market. Do not make a bad impression just to satisfy a calendar date. Buyers that see their perfect house too early in their home searching process still need to learn the market and compare it to other homes. After they have looked and possibly lost out on other homes, they are now ready and educated to write a contract. There are buyers writing contracts all year long. Over the winter holidays sellers homes show festive and smell great. They get fewer showings, but more serious lookers.

When should you list? Sellers are always juggling the calendar and mother nature obstacles such as Spring snowfalls or rain, early or late tree and bud blooming, grass turning green. Then there are school holidays and spring break which are different in every town as well as the public and private schools. You will miss one buyer and pick up another. Holidays are many times busy as buyers have off from work with time to look and might be in the area visiting family or friends and want to look at houses because it is convenient.

Ask any realtor and they will tell you about contracts they wrote on a holiday when they thought they too might have the day off. Better yet, ask a realtor's spouse or family how often they had to compete on a holiday with the cell phone, negotiating and their missing partner who had to work.

If you are planning on selling or buying, take a deep breath, you have plenty of time. It is always the right time to sell or buy. Spring is in the air! Raise your spirits and plant a few pansies in your garden or planter as you embrace the Spring Market.  Pansies are hardy and will cheer you on those rainy cooler days and add color until it is blooming season. Celebrate Passover and Easter as we tiptoe into warmer days, enjoying patios, barbeques, birds chirping, contracts being written and homes being sold. Enjoy Spring and the Spring Market!