Should you wait until spring to try to sell your home?

There are a lot of folks who want to sell their homes.  Many have been on market for the summer months with nothing to show for it but a fishbowl full of business cards left by buyer's agents during showings.  The listing is either expired, or soon to expire, and they are unsure of their next step.

Maybe they will just re-list the home with the current agent.  That's the easiest course, since he's already asking for an extension of the listing.  No need to interview other agents and go through the paperwork needed to set things up.  Just sign one form and let things ride.  Well, unless there are substantial changes to the price, condition, or marketing, there will be no changes.  Better get a bigger fishbowl if you choose to continue with the same failed strategy.

Maybe it would be better to just wait until house hunting season starts in early spring and try listing again.  Well, there are more buyers in spring, but there will be more homes on the market too.  There are a few reasons why waiting could be a poor strategy. 

First, foreclosures are down now, due in part to the legal issues banks have been dealing with on their tactics used in the process.  This delay in foreclosure and repossession means that listed home inventory is at a lower level, and there is a bit less inventory to compete with.  The delay is temporary, and there are signs that it will be ending soon. 

Second, many home prices are still dropping, not as acutely as a couple years ago, but any price drop affects your bottom line when you sell.  While there is no accurate way to predict the future, there does not seem to be any reason to expect the momentum to turn around soon.

Third, along with the probable increase in foreclosed homes on the market, many discretionary sellers just like to list their homes in spring.  The yard looks better, they won't have to move during the school year, there are more buyers out touring homes, etc.  Those are all valid reasons for listing in spring, but they are all the types of conclusions that bring a glut of homes to the market in spring.  In today's housing climate, the number of spring buyers is not likely to exceed the increase in spring listings.

In conclusion, if you want to sell your home, you should probably get it on the market now.  If you have been on the market and the listing has failed, don't do the same thing again and expect different results.  If you want a candid opinion of why your home failed to sell, call me.  There will be no sugar coating, and you may not be happy with what I tell you, but you will be better off as a result.