The Best Month to Sell Your House is When You’re Ready
This is a question that gets brought up a lot to us. “When is the best month to sell my house?” Well, the answer isn’t really as easy to quantify as you might think. Looking at national averages, it’s probably March. It used to be May, but that changed in 2019. But that doesn’t mean that the best time to sell your home is in March. After all, every house is different, along with every neighborhood, every buyer, and every seller. Let’s break it down by season and take a look at some of the pros and cons of each. Selling a House in the Spring There are some who will swear up and down that the best month to sell a house is one that’s in spring time. And, in some ways, they’re absolutely right. Springtime is when the weather starts to warm up. People have just endured the cold winter months, and they’re ready to go outside and start doing things again. They’re feeling maybe a little more positive than they were. Tax return checks are mailing out, maybe folks have a little more spending money in their pockets. Also, summer break is looming ahead for the children, and maybe parents are looking to have a new place by the time the final dismissal bell of the year rings out. In terms of curb appeal, it’s hard for a home to look more inviting than when the trees are in bloom and the warm blue sky is all around it. This is a great time to have somebody look at your home. Also, you’ve hopefully spent the past winter months prepping it and cleaning it to be seen. Of course, nothing is perfect and selling a house in the spring comes with some major cons as well. First of all, it’s the busiest selling season. That means your home is going to be facing a lot more competition in the market than you would if you were, say, selling in the fall. And with that competition comes more bargaining power for the buyer. Since there are more homes on the market, they’re likely going to be choosier about which one they’ll buy. That means that if the house for sale up the street from you is in better shape, it will probably get priority. Also, the buyer will maybe be more demanding about repairs and renovations on your part before they’re willing to buy. Selling a House in the Summer For some people, the best months to sell a house are in the summer. There are a lot of benefits to picking this time of year to sell, actually. The weather is generally warm, for starters. That means people are more active. Also, school is already out, so it’s a great time to relocate. You don’t have to worry about winter snow or spring showers when moving all those boxes. A house that looks great in the spring will probably look even better in the summer. That is, as long as you’ve been keeping up with your landscaping and yard work. Summer is a great time for curb appeal. Also, the days are longest in summer. That means you have more time for showing the house, and more hours with your house looking amazing in the sunlight. Summer is also a peak selling season, so your home’s appraisal evaluation will probably be a little higher than it would be in the colder months. The cons of selling a house in the summer, however, are enough to turn some people away from the idea. For starters, it’s the hottest time of the year. That means you’d better have some good cooling in place if you’re going to be showing the house. Any curious buyers are going to be pretty put off if they’re sweating from head to toe while doing a walkthrough. Also, while the kids being home might be a pro, it could also be a con. Some parents just aren’t going to have the time to go house-hunting when they’re taking care of the kids all day. Similarly, a lot of families go on vacation in the summer. That means there are less potential buyers out there on any given week of the season. Selling a House in the Fall Are the best months to sell a house in the fall? There are certainly a lot of benefits. We know we keep talking about curb appeal, and it’s really all a matter of taste, but to us it’s hard to find a time of the year when a house will look better than in the fall. Especially if there are a lot of trees around. The color-changing leaves are like a little natural fireworks display. Fall decor, like pumpkins and other seasonal flowers and gourds, will be sure to take things to the next level in terms of looks. Also, in a lot of areas of the country, fall is an even better time of the year for moving than summer. It may mean a little wetter weather, but it also means cooler temperatures and less exhausting conditions. Buying a house in the fall also usually means that the buyer will be able to move in before the holidays, and who doesn’t love spending their first holiday season in a new home? Selling in the fall comes with a couple of cons, though. Your listing price will probably be a little bit lower, and people will probably have less free time or be less willing to go out and house-hunt. Also, if you get too close to the holidays, mover availability may be more limited and it might be harder to actually get your stuff out of there and the new owners’ stuff in. Selling a House in the Winter If you take all the pros and cons of selling a house in the spring and summer, and then completely flip them around, you’re basically going to get the pros and cons of selling in the winter. First of all, if somebody’s looking to buy in the winter, they’re probably doing so with more of a sense of urgency than those who wait until spring. That gives you more leverage in your bargaining, and you’ll probably come out better in the negotiations. There is also much less seller competition in the winter. With fewer houses for sale on the market, potential buyers will have less of a choice and that will put your house in a better standing. All that being said, there are less people out and about, your house’s appraisal evaluation will probably come back lower, your curb appeal won’t be as nice, and the cold weather may affect some things in your house that will need to be fixed. The Best Month to Sell Your House is When You’re Ready When all is said and done, the best month to sell a house is when you’re ready to sell. Don’t force yourself to rush to a decision to sell just because you want to target a specific month. As you can see above, every time of the year has its own pros and cons, so you’re going to have to do some balancing no matter when you sell. If you think you are ready to sell, and you’re wondering if now is the time to do it, give Harvey Goodman Realtor® a call. Our agents are experts in house selling. We’ll be sure to get you the best deal possible while also working with you throughout the entire process. We’ll give you an honest estimate of your home’s value, and then we’ll help you do everything you need to get it ready to sell.
The Process of Selling a House - A Checklist
There are two moments in life that you’ll always cherish: The day you bought your house, and the day you sold your house because you got a new one. And there’s a good reason for that. A home is where we grow and live our lives. It’s where we feel safe and secure. It’s where we laugh and where we love. It’s also where we change, and change sometimes means making a new home in a different house. While there are a lot of good feelings associated with home, the idea of selling one can also be pretty daunting if you’re not properly prepared. So, to help you out, we put together this little checklist of things that you’ll absolutely need to have covered before you’re ready to sign the papers over to your house’s new owners. 1. Honestly Assess Your Curb Appeal Look, first impressions matter. The first thing any prospective buyer is going to see is the front of your house. That impression is going to stay with them for the rest of the journey, so you’ll want it to be a good one. Take a look at how your house appears from the outside. Is it a little shabby? Is it missing color and life? That’s okay, there are some easy fixes you can make to spruce up the looks. For instance, try planting some flowers in the front, or place potted flowers if you don’t have the space for any gardening. Also, consider repainting your front door. Adding some color can breathe new life into your house’s curb appeal and make it instantly more attractive to buyers. 2. Declutter Your Living Space You surely have a beautiful home, so you’re going to want to be sure that people can see it before showing it off. That means it’s time to declutter your space so everybody can see your lovely floors and furniture. Take your jackets off of the chair (we all have a jacket chair), and do a clean sweep of all your counters, tables, windowsills, and any other visible areas. You’ll also want to make sure your cabinets and drawers look tidy, since you never know where a curious buyer will be looking. In this way, the process of selling a home can lead to a more organized lifestyle! At least until the clutter comes back. 3. Depersonalize the Living Areas This one can be tough, because it means removing the “you-ness” that you’ve accumulated in your home over the years. The idea is that you want buyers to be able to visualize themselves living in the house. You want them to look at the walls and the floors and be able to picture their own family’s setup. The less of your personalization there is to get in the way of that visualization, the better they’ll be able to see themselves living in the house! 4. Paint Your Walls in Neutral Tones Yes, your bright blue walls are lovely. But blue is also one of your favorite colors. What if a potential buyer looks at your home and they personally hate that color? Suddenly you have a much harder sell on your hands. Repainting your walls to a neutral tone will help keep them from being a distraction to somebody who wants to live there. Light colors also have the benefit of being easier to picture in another color, so the buyer can imagine what the walls will look like after they’re painted the color of their choice. 5. Touch Up All of the Scuff Marks Look, we get it. It’s inevitable that a house is going to accumulate some scuff marks over time. It’s the true mark of being lived in. But that doesn’t mean those scuff marks should be there when a buyer comes to take a look. You want the buyer to fall in love with your house while they’re walking through it. Scuff marks will take away from that and instead be added to a list of things they’ll need to fix when they move in. If you have dents in the drywall or other dings, go get some materials at the hardware store and patch them up. 6. Fix the Loose Handles Yes, even a small thing like a loose door handle or a missing or broken lightbulb can have a cumulative negative effect on a buyer during the house-selling process. Take the time to fix the small things, and you won’t have to worry about them being a bigger problem later in the process. 7. Add Some Greenery Adding plants to your interior is a quick and easy way to instantly make the inside of your house more attractive. Green is the color of life and will introduce a pleasant atmosphere. They don’t even have to be real plants. If you’re not somebody who’d consider themself to have a “green thumb,” buy some realistic looking fake plants and place them around your home. 8. Clean, Clean, and Clean Again You already know that you’ll have to do a thorough cleaning of your house. After all, whoever buys this house is making a big investment. They’re almost definitely committing to a mortgage, and it’s a major decision. You’ll want them to see it at its cleanest when they’re making that decision. So after you’ve cleaned everything, gotten the floors spotless, dusted every last mote from the mantle, stop and take a breath. Then, do it all again. You never know when a potential buyer is going to schedule a last-minute tour, so you want your house to always be ready and in a state of peak cleanliness. Find a Real Estate Agent! This is the most important step, and it should probably be done before everything else. Maybe the housing market is hot and you’re feeling tempted to go it alone instead of using a realtor. More often than not, this is going to turn out to be a huge mistake, one that will end up costing you both a lot of money and time. A good real estate agent will help you get through all of the steps involved in the process of selling a house. They’ll help you find the proper selling price, they’ll help you market it, and they’ll help you make sure your house is ready to sell when the time comes. And when you do find a buyer and legal documents start entering the picture, a real estate agent will make sure the process goes as smoothly as possible. Trust us, you want an agent on your side. Harvey Goodman Realtor® Has Your Back Of course, you don’t want just any real estate agent. You want somebody you can work with and trust. At Harvey Goodman Realtor®, all of our agents are at the top of their game and experts when it comes to the process of selling a house. We’ll help you get through everything from putting your house on the market, getting it ready to show, and navigating the paperwork and inspections. We’ll be at your side from start to settlement. If you’re considering selling your house, make calling Harvey Goodman Realtor® the first item on your checklist.
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