Now that we’ve passed the holiday season, our thoughts are already turning to when the weather will start warming up as we all want to skip right over winter, right? Here at Solutions, we know that spring is the ideal time to show off a house to its best advantage, and many of our listing clients are already getting their houses ready to list in the next few months.
Buyers come out of the woodwork during the spring, and with tax refund checks in the bank, spring buyers more often pay full price. In fact, sales peak in the spring, helping to explain why about 60% of those who move do so in the summer.
As a typical home is on the market for a few weeks to a few months, many families want to plan to make the purchase of their home and complete the transaction before the summer months, when everyone is ready for vacation. Parents are keenly aware that school registrations need to be dealt with – and who wants to be loading a moving truck in the sweltering heat of August?
Based on our years of experience here in the Charlottesville market, our Solutions agents know that the best time to list and sell a single family detached home is in the spring, followed by early to mid fall.
Our area, in particular, is one of the most beautiful when it comes to a spring showcase of flowers, flowering shrubs and trees. After a long winter, the first hints of yellow swaths of forsythia, the white cloud of Bradford pears, the purple magenta redbuds, yellow and white daffodils, cherry blossoms and crocuses seem to trigger the “moving bug” in many people.
Gardens tend to look their best in fresh bloom, when the leaves are starting to fill out trees, so homes appear more appealing, causing many buyers to be in high spirits.
Springtime to-dos
Many of our listing clients find that it’s easier to get their homes ready for sale at this time of year – from painting inside or out, decluttering & staging to the simple ability to keep the house cleaner without the winter mud (ah, that Virginia red clay we love so well!) being traipsed throughout a home every time someone walks through the front door.
The only disadvantage to selling a home in the springtime is that others will be as well. When you sell at the busiest time of the year you’ll face more competition, so make sure your home shows at its best – from its curbside appeal to a sparkling and spotless interior!
The best day of the week to list your house for sale is Thursday. This is more true during a sellers market, but if you list your house for sale on a Thursday, it will be available right away for weekend showings and bySaturday — the most important day of the real-estate week — your house will have shown only two days.
The fewer days on market, the better chance the home will attract a full-price offer. Even if your house doesn’t sell by the next Saturday, it will still show only nine days on market, benefiting from the psychological advantage of a single-digit number.
Some properties will sell at any time of year – such as those aimed at first time home owners, especially condominiums and town homes. Often these buyers aren’t faced with the constraints of school catchments, and are much more interested in amenities like underground parking, recreation facilities and the nearest coffee shop. These buyers are happy to shop at any time of year, so sales will often be a bit steadier throughout.
Having said this, there really is no wrong time to list your home, because if you price your home right, based on the advice of your Solutions agent, and make every effort to present it in a superior way, chances are you’ll sell your property in a timely manner.
