When you are ready to sell your house, you may not always want to or have time to wait for the Spring market. If you try to sell your house during the fourth quarter, is it even possible or should you give up before you start? Here’s the real answer on when you should sell your house.
The truth is, you need to position your house for the current market when you are ready to sell. What does that mean about the fourth quarter? Don’t assume you can’t sell it when in fact there are some real significant advantages to listing your house in the fourth quarter.
The most meaningful advantage you will have if your list your house during the final quarter of the year is the lack of available houses on the market. Many people don’t want to be bothered with selling their house during the latter part of the year. Whether they have holiday plans that it might interfere with, family visiting or want to relax, many people don’t want to sell then meaning competition is drastically less giving your house more attention then it might get during the HOT spring market.
At the same time, many sellers don’t want to sell their house; many buyers also don’t want to be inconvenienced with shopping for a house at this time of the year. What does that mean for you? While there are fewer houses on the market and fewer buyers shopping, the ones that are shopping for a house are much more serious than during other seasons. Job changes and other reasons for moving sometimes dictate when someone must buy a house. If you change jobs and have to move in November, you may need to buy a house even if it isn’t the most convenient time for you. With fewer houses to choose from, your house may get some attention it wouldn’t ordinarily get when buyers have a multitude of houses to select from.
If you do decide to list your house this time of year, make the best of it with tasteful decorating for the season. Even if you usually, cover every surface of your house with Christmas decorations, consider scaling back this year, so your house is more appealing and not overwhelming for people to look through.
This means that selling in the fourth quarter won’t require you to sacrifice your price to get the job done. Price your house for the current market and make sure to discuss with your agent the time frame you are hoping to sell in.
~Troy