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What are the advantages of selling your home in the winter?

By Joy Daniels

Real Estate Agent with Joy Daniels Real Estate Group, Ltd.

November 26, 2019 12:36 PM

Friends and Clients —

November is already here, and soon we will be dipping into winter.

Most folks think that's a slow part of the year for real estate. But winter can actually be a great time to sell your home for two reasons.

Reason No. 1 is that there is less competition.

Fewer homes are listed in winter than in spring (38% more listings) and summer (13% more listings). That's part of the reason why winter has the reputation of being a sleepy season for real estate.

However, the lower number of homes on the market also means it's easier to attract the attention of buyers. It's simply the law of supply and demand. Speaking of which...

Reason No. 2 is that buyers in the winter have more urgency.

Yes, fewer buyers look at homes in the winter months, but for various reasons, winter buyers tend to be more dedicated and serious than typical buyers in spring or summer.

Perhaps they've been looking for months without success. Perhaps they have a job relocation (which are most common in January and February), and absolutely need to move. Perhaps they've received a healthy end-of-year bonus that allows them to finally buy their dream home.

Whatever the specific reasons might be, the conclusion is clear:

Winter is a great time to list your home. Don't just take my word for it.

Redfin has conducted a massive study on the matter. They found that winter is only slightly behind spring as the best season to list your home if you care about selling above your listing price and selling within 30 days.

An earlier study even showed that winter sellers net more above asking price than spring sellers and homes listed in winter sold faster than those posted until spring.

So if you have been mulling around the idea of selling your home, then this winter might be the time to act.

If you’re just curious, you can get an idea of what your home might fetch in the current market based on recent Central Pennsylvania sales:

Enter your home address here to find out what your home is currently worth

If you are ready to get the ball rolling, give me a call at (717) 695-3177. I can point out the most common mistakes around pricing and showing your home during the winter. If you avoid these mistakes, you’ll have a great shot at selling quickly and for top dollar.