Should You Wait Until Next Spring to List Your Home?

Northern Virginia Real Estate Podcast

Should you put your home on the market this fall or wait until spring? There are five reasons why fall is actually a great time to sell your home.

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Should you sell your home now or wait until next spring?

There are a few points I want to share with you about that, but I briefly want to mention this great book I am reading by John Maxwell called Leadership Promises for Every Day, which is about how to be a great leader.

Now, should you wait until spring to sell? I would say no. There are a few reasons why fall is actually a great time to sell your home:

1. You will face less competition now than you will in the spring. Since everyone waits for spring to list their property, there is low housing inventory during the winter. Typically in Northern Virginia, we don’t get very harsh winters, so listing your home now is actually a great way to get ahead of all the competition that will come on the market in the spring.

2. Interest rates may rise soon. The Fed has been talking about raising interest rates in the coming months. They will meet again sometime before the end of the year to discuss just that. Now is a good time to get your home on the market because rates are so low for buyers. Any time interest rates go up, buyers’ purchasing power decreases, which ultimately limits the number of people who can afford to purchase your home.

Homes actually sell faster in the fall and winter than they do in the spring.

3. You will capture the job transfer market by listing in the fall. People who are getting transferred need to buy a home before January 1st. In order to capture that market, you need to list now.

4. Statistics show that homes actually sell faster in the winter than they do in the spring.

5. There are more serious buyers in the fall and winter. There are a lot of buyers out there during the spring, but many of them are just looking around and exploring the market. People who look at properties during the winter are very serious about purchasing a home. Think of it this way: they want to buy a home before the holidays just as much as you want to sell your home before the holidays.

As you can see, there are many reasons why fall is actually a good reason to put your home on the market. If you have any questions about preparing your home for the market, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!