Would you sell a house in December, or wait until spring?

[HardDrive]

We have a small house that we bought as a rental, but we've decided to cash it out. After a huge renovation, its pretty much done. I could have it on the market by December.

Or, I could hold on to it for another 3-4 months and do some more work on it. My carrying cost is $1300 a month, and I'm pretty sure I can add $10000 in value if I hold on to it for 4 months.

Am I thinking about this wrong? I've always been told it much easier to sell in the spring, and it seems like the RE market is ticking up. I don't know, but the house might be appreciating $1300 a month at this point on its own.

Educate me older and wiser Pelicans.

[craigster59]

People are preoccupied with the holidays in December. If it is a "first time buyer" home, some wait for their tax return monies in March and April to use towards a down payment. Also, nicer curb appeal in spring is a big selling point.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I don't see the harm in listing it now, but not much happens in real estate between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

[imcarthur]

Spring. Remember: # of months on market weighs against you.

Just search Google. Every graph looks the same:



Ian

[HardDrive]

Originally Posted by NotaBRG

We'll know better next Tuesday.
Unless you are saying that the work you'll do over the next 4 months will net $10k.

That is what I'm saying.

[notfarnow]

Last 2 years, December has been my biggest month for selling homes.

I find there are fewer buyers in the winter months... especially the two weeks before/after Christmas. HOWEVER, there are also FAR fewer homes on the market, and anyone buying that time of year tends to be serious. SO, you have *fewer* buyers but they are motivated, with less homes to chose from.

Sure, more homes sell in the spring, but more of them expire as unsold too. Very easy to get lost in the spring rush of listings


DISCLAIMER: My experience in MY market might be worthless in YOUR market. Ask a pro in your area

[Seahawk]

Figure out what you have to have for it, money wise, and then ask that, real estate lady or owner sale dependent.

I remember your earlier post about this place. Seemed to me it was in a good area, nice, and I am sure you have done well with your reno.

List it now on any of the sites that cater to for sale by owner. If you need an agent later, no one will remember your earlier, solo, attempts.

[fireant911]

We placed our home for sale in April 2012 and were under contract six days later. The prospective buyer was a first-time buyer using an USDA loan. Two days before the closing date, our realtor contracted us to inform us that "the deal was off" as this buyer supposedly did not qualify for the loan. Our house went back on the market at the end of June 2012 and, again, we received a firm offer from another buyer and were under contract six days later. This buyer was also a first-time buyer using an USDA loan. The day before closing, our realtor called and said we could not close on the scheduled date because of a problem with the prospective buyer finances. I told the realtor that this was totally unacceptable... We did end up closing on that date but it still took three months.

I was not impressed by the 'work' of our realtor (I really expected more for a 6% commission). Be cautious, extremely cautious, about USDA loans because they can take a long time to go through the process. Properly staging your house can make a big difference - houses do sell throughout the year. Although your carrying cost is $1,300/month, I found it to be quite a headache having two houses. Do a lot of homework yourself regarding 'house-selling' because you cannot always rely on those that should be 'in the know'.

[imcarthur]

I must admit that, I have sold + replaced 3 of my houses Oct - March. I even accepted a firm offer at 5 PM on Christmas Eve for one of them. Each of the houses was a move up & a great buy (a.k.a. needed immediately work). Of course, we also had to sell very competitively (a.k.a. settle a bit more than we wanted) at the other end. Yes, the fewer buyers were focused – two sold with firm cash offers with a short close of 30-45 days. The lack of supply made buying very tense & we had conditional offers on the purchases – but the slow market allowed them. But in northern climes, the yard looks like crap, the trees are bare & the house looks drab & the buyers want buys imho. Just hope for a light dusting of snow before every showing.

Ian

[Vintage914Racer]

We were planning on listing our house in the Spring, but had no good reason to wait. Our realtor. Who is very successful and my best friend, suggested there was no harm listing it early. We said we'd list it Nov 1 and he proactively began spreading the word. Before we even had the listing finalized he had someone come in on a preshow and they bought it.

We're definitely not the norm, but we quickly found that the market is quite strong right now in Minneapolis. With a sold house and nowhere to live come December we quickly began looking at houses. To notfarnow's point, the limited supply of homes and exceeding demand means that houses are going quick, at least what we've seen in Minneapolis under $500k. We watched for new listings daily an whenever we saw something we liked we would try to schedule a showing immediately. At least one half of these new listings would sell before we could even get a look at them.

We did finally find a house and I'm excited to finally have a working garage at home with space for 5 cars.

[TheMentat]

i find there are fewer buyers in the winter months... Especially the two weeks before/after christmas. However, there are also far fewer homes on the market, and anyone buying that time of year tends to be serious. So, you have *fewer* buyers but they are motivated, with less homes to chose from.



sure, more homes sell in the spring, but more of them expire as unsold too. Very easy to get lost in the spring rush of listings





disclaimer: My experience in my market might be worthless in your market. Ask a pro in your area

+1...

[john70t]

5yr average shows a gradual fall since 2008, with rebounding this year:
Seattle Home Prices and Home Values in WA - Zillow Local Info

Spring is usually a better time. Love is in the air, flowers in bloom, moving is easier, and people are more optimistic.

[Mothy]

Lots come into it. More homes sell in Spring largely because more are offered for sale and it's traditionally a time when people start looking.

Perhaps the clearance rate - % of homes listed which sold and also time to clear - average time for a listing to sell might give a better indication.

Ultimately time of year won't change what you get, just how quickly.

[RANDY P]

List it for a good high price. If it sells, it sells. Otherwise spring then get serious about pricing.

[Jim Bremner]

Originally Posted by RANDY P

List it for a good high price. If it sells, it sells. Otherwise spring then get serious about pricing.

This! What harm could happen? Plus Ithink that there's a new tax of 3.4% on the sale of your home after the first of the year to fund Obamacare.

I tried to get my wife to sell our home in the spring but she wasn't mentally ready yet.

I went away at the start of October for a week last year. When I got home she decided that she was ready. GREAT I lost the best selling season! Well House went up for sale October 20ish and sold for 15k less than asking to the first person that saw it.

We moved out of our home into a rental with the thoght that it might take a year to find the right home. I wanted a big lot in SoCal with a decent size ranch home on it.

I found what I was looking for December 6th and bought it December 8 and CLOSED on the 23rd!

[LWJ]

My Co-worker just accepted an offer on his house in Portland yesterday. List it. If it doesn't sell, pull it off on Jan 15. Put some more work in it. Relist it. New RMLS number. No stigma.

Good luck.
Larry