Real estate is seasonal regardless of the market.  Typically, more homes sell in the spring and summer than in the fall and winter.  December is the one odd month as many buyers rush to cash in on the tax incentives by closing before December 31.  That being said, there is a much better time to sell your home in the summer than any other. 

I compared contracts received on listings in both Union and Mecklenburg counties dating back to 2005 between June 1 and September 1.  I also excluded out all of the new construction sales, which have little relevance for this topic.  In Union county. 54% of all the contracts written in the summer came in before July 4th.  The remaining 46% for those years were then spread over the last 58 days.  Therefore, it makes more sense to get aggressive early on to sell your home than to wait until mid-summer, as your chances for success dimish substantially. 

Mecklenburg county was slightly different from 2005 to 2008 as 54% of all sales happened prior to July 12.  The balance is as a result of higher selling volume in Mecklenburg county as opposed to Union, and Union's lopsided location of sales.  The majority of the sales in Union county occur north and west of Monroe, while sales in Mecklenburg occur all over the county.  So in a seasonal real estate market, Union's lack of sales volume has made it even more season than its neighboring county.  Also, with the majority of Union's residents having relocated from Mecklenburg, it only makes sense that those with children would wait until after school had ended. 

So what's the end result?  If you're a seller and you don't have a contract by July 4 or 12, you may want to consider getting aggressive with your price and marketing if you're planning to sell before September 1. 

Charlotte Real Estate