Should I List My Home for Sale Before the Season Starts?

Fall has officially arrived and winter is on the horizon. Cold, gloomy days with snow shoveling will soon be among us. Well maybe for many of you but not actually for us in Palm Springs, California. Soon we'll be faced with snowbirds and part time residents flocking back for our beautiful winter weather.

There's no doubt about it, our busiest time of the year is the winter! Winter here is like none other with warm sunny skies and daytime temperatures near 80 degrees, there's no place better to be. High season for the Palm Springs area is January, February, March and April. I like to call October, November, and December the shoulder season because now days more and more people are coming here earlier in the season.

It makes perfect sense that most home seller's think the best time of the year to sell their home is January at the start of high season. But I'm going to tell you different!

Why it's a good idea to list your home for sale before the season:

1. Fewer Homes on the Market - List your home now to avoid the rush. Come January, everyone and their neighbor will be putting their home for sale on the market. Why get lost in the middle? By listing earlier in the season, you'll have the chance to hold the spot light on your home and have a little less competition.
2. Serious Buyers Are Looking Now - If someone is calling to schedule a home showing during the fall or during the holidays, you can assume they are a serious buyer. People are busy during the holidays and they aren't going to shop for homes just for fun when they have a billion other things to do.
3. Uncle Sam  - For tax reasons many home buyer may desire to purchase prior to the end of the year.
4. Interest Rates - For people thinking of buying a new home, now may be the best time to do it. In the last week of August, interest rates dropped to 4.1%, the lowest for the year and far below historic levels. While rates around 4% may not break any records, they’re not far from it. Many market watchers are predicting rates will start to rise again soon. The projected mortgage interest rate for a year from now is 5.2%.
5. Why Are You Selling - Analyze the reasons you are looking to sell. Does it make sense to wait another few months or does it make sense to move on with your life and get to where you want to be? All in all, serious buyers have fewer homes to consider on the market now which equals less inventory for seller's and more money for your home.

Take advantage of the time now to sell your house. The housing market is prime for moving up so many home buyers are also seller's themselves.

Maybe your looking to move up, maybe your looking to get out of California, whatever the reason there really is no better time than now to list your home for sale. Click here to view our marketing plan and see what we will do for you. Call me at (760)574-8486 to get started.