Ah, the legendary Spring real estate market is almost upon us. Everyone who’s anyone waits until Spring in Western New York to buy and sell their house right? It’s too cold in February and the grass is brown – yuck! But if you are waiting for better weather and tulips to market your house you are also inviting more competition into the marketplace with you. Think about it for a minute. If you know you are ready to sell, why not get a head start before supply goes up? There are certain markets and price ranges in WNY right this very minute where supply is down and demand is up. Believe me, I am not making this up. I keep telling my buyers, “wait for Spring”.
I have clients searching for a home in Lewiston right now. They are frustrated because they feel as though they have seen everything within their budget (a pretty high one at that) and they can’t find anything to meet their needs. They are not being fussy, there really isn’t much available. If a house popped up in the next few weeks that they liked it would have a much greater chance of selling to them. But since there isn’t anything there for them right now they are reluctantly turning to other markets.
Of course more buyers traditionally come out of the woodwork in the nice, warm Spring air too. But now is the time to grab ahold of the serious shoppers. Anyone out there every weekend in the frigid temperatures is serious about buying. They need a house and they are typically not just browsing. Don’t forget, it takes a while to close the on the sale. Most home buyers with school age children want to get this entire process finished before school starts. Waiting until May to list means that even if your house takes only 2 months to sell, it’s not likely that the transition will be complete before the Summer’s end.
If you are ready to sell, now is the time. If you are worried that your house won’t show as well in the winter, see if you have any pictures of your house in the summertime. Display some nice garden shots in frames on the kitchen table or have your realtor make up a brochure detailing how nicely your yard is landscaped in the summer months. You can still show off what can’t be seen!
If your home is on the market right now and hasn’t had much activity now is the time to re-evaluate, before a new batch of fresh competition joins you. There are 3 reasons why a house doesn’t sell. Price, marketing, and… price. How has your home been marketed? Do you have a strong internet presence? Almost 90% of new home buyers are browsing online, either with or without a Realtor. Pictures, pictures, pictures! Your home needs at least eight photographs on the internet, period. And if it only has one photo of the exterior everyone is wondering the same thing, “what’s wrong with the inside?”. I tell my buyers who are looking for bargains to shop around for houses that only have one photo on the internet of the outside of the house. Why? Because a lot of people make negative assumptions about these homes and pass right by. The lack of interest can often mean a price reduction for the buyers. Is your home a discount property? If not, get those pictures taken. If your house is overpriced and you are serious about selling, talk to your agent about the status of the current market. It may be time to give a little.
In summary:
If you’re waiting for Spring to sell, don’t.
If you’re buying a house and having no luck, go back and look at all those houses you skipped because they had no pictures. Or else, wait for Spring.
Comments(0)