Real estate agents have a stressful and hectic job. For starters, they need to know the market, understand the selling trends, know what people are looking for and know what houses are going for in their area. They also need to understand the best time to list a home. Because of all of the factors that need to be considered when listing a property, homeowners are generally unsuccessful in listing their home on their own. Furthermore, proceeding without the help of an agent most often leads to a bad or unprofitable deal.
Real estate market gurus suggest that listing your home early in the year ensures you’re ready to close the deal by the time June rolls around. According to these experts, home sales increase very much around this time. But is it that simple? What does early in the year imply? Continue reading to find out the best time to list your home and the important factors that contribute to a better deal.
Knowing the right time of year
Timing is by far the most influencing factor of a home sales deal. Listing your home at the right time of year increases your chances of selling your home quickly and with a good profit. Listing a home during the holiday season won’t be doing you any good because people are generally more focused on making their holiday plans and shopping.
According to several experts, Springtime is the optimum time of the year to list a home. Logically speaking, the National Association of Realtors denominate the 4th weekend in April as National Open House weekend which indicates that it is the prime time for real estate deals. Consulting a realtor can help you with deciding the perfect spring month to list your home.
Knowing your buyers
It’s a widely known fact that people from different age groups make decisions differently, according to their priorities. After a thorough analysis, there are a few repetitive behavioral patterns that people make according to their age groups.
- Singles and Young couples
These people are mostly first-time home buyers. So, they tend to begin their search for their dream home early in the year. They usually are at the lower end of the buyer market and prefer terraced homes and apartments. Beginning their hunt early in the year, they have an advantage of not being in a rush to buy. So, generally they look at lots of properties which leads to their search go on for weeks or maybe months. Being patient with them helps.
- Families
This category of people tends to buy in three distinctive time frames of the year: spring, autumn, and early summer. Couples with children normally don’t prefer to house hunt during the time of holidays. They would usually use that time for going to vacations and simply enjoying the holidays. It’s a very stressful job to search for a home while having to take care of their children. They mostly wait for their children go back to school and then start their search for the home peacefully.
- Downsizers
Older singles and couples often prefer to search for homes in the warmer weather. Retirement homes and bungalows usually hit the market during this time. Generally speaking, downsizers typically look at fewer properties and purchase much quicker.
Knowing the Weather
- Spring
As mentioned above, Spring is always the best time to list and sell your home. The primary reason for this is, unlike the other seasons, people aren’t away for vacations or busy with the Christmas holiday season.
- Summer
Not a very good time to list your home. A lot of people usually go on to vacations. Especially families who’ll fly away or stuck with childcare on their school holidays.
- Autumn
A decent time to list and eventually get someone to purchase your home. There are no major holidays around. After October, the market usually slows down a bit. So be ready to move out quickly, if someone decided to purchase your home.
- Winter
Being very close to Christmas, it can be a difficult task to sell your home. If you’re not prepared to list your home prior to December, it’s a much better thing to wait until January.
Some Important Tips When Selling Your Home
- Make sure you’re prepared to move if someone purchases your home quicker than you’ve expected.
- If you want to know whether a buyer is serious or not, find out if they’ve made contact with a mortgage broker or real estate agent. In doing this, you can make sure if they’re really willing to go with the next step in home buying procedure.
- Make sure that the purchase and sale agreement is documented properly to the terms you’ve agreed upon.