Conventional wisdom says that winter is the slow season for real estate and that spring is the best time for sellers to list their homes. But, when the real estate website Redfin ran the numbers they discovered something surprising. Conventional wisdom may be misleading sellers about the hidden opportunities available in winter.
Sellers Goals and Buyers Intentions
Sellers have two primary goals when they list their house:
1. Sell the house for the listing price (or more)
2. Sell the house in 30 days or less
Looking back on four years of data from over 7 million listings, it was discovered that listing your home in spring does give you the best chance of selling your home for more than the listing price and for getting under contract in 30 days or less.
But, the real surprise was that winter was a close second in both areas. Sellers listing in winter sold their house for more than the listing price just 1.2% less often than those that listed in the spring. While 48% of sellers were under contract in less than 30 days in the spring, 46.2% of sellers who listed in winter had the same result.
Experts believe that even though there are fewer buyers shopping for homes in winter, winter buyers are often more motivated than buyers at other times of the year. Buyers who are looking in winter often need to buy right away. Often these buyers are moving because of a sudden job change or other largely unplanned life event.
Homes listed in winter sell better than expected because they face less competition from other sellers and a more motivated corps of buyers.
Winter Real Estate in Marin County
One of the reasons winter has long been thought to be a bad time to list a home is because of bad weather. Marin County is fortunate in that even in the winter, the weather isn’t enough to keep anyone indoors.
Looking at the most recent market report for Marin County, fall home sales began their typical seasonal dip. However, housing prices increased over the same period last year. It looks like this winter will have fewer houses for sale than last winter. However, home prices are expected to remain steady, or even increase slightly, over the winter months. This means that if you are ready to sell, there is no reason to wait for spring. Listing your home this winter is likely to give you just as good results as the spring.
If you are interested in learning more about the specifics of the Marin County real estate market and how your specific house will fair on the market, make sure to contact an experienced real estate broker who knows the area well.
Please see our Market Reports for a complete city by city analysis on the Marin County real estate market. Contact us for a free market analysis on the value of your home.
Behzad Zandinejad
Broker Associate
A Top Producing Agent for 2015
BRE#01175448
Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty
100 Tiburon Blvd, Mill Valley, CA.94941
Tel:415-793-0015
Marin County Real Estate Report