If you’re planning to sell your home in 2017, listing your home in January may be the secret to getting it sold quickly and for top dollar. Most people believe spring and summer are the ideal seasons to sell—which in itself is one reason to list in January (supply and demand, ya know!)—but there are quite a few others. Below are the top three reasons to list your home during the early months of the year.
- More people searching – Beginning in January, internet searches for homes spike, according to Google Trends, which reports searches for real estate spike in January to 93 percent of peak. Additionally, my brokerage, Beacham & Company, Realtors®, sees the greatest leap in website traffic in January. With 83 percent of homebuyers using the internet to look for homes* the ‘season’ for looking at homes is year-round. Heck, many buyers are getting alerts on their smartphones or in their email each time a desirable home pops on the market.
- Less competition – Listing in January may enable your home to be a greater standout among less competition. Because much of the browsing for homes happens online—thus indoors—now, with less inventory on the market your home can gain greater attention, which can help you sell quicker and for a better price. With lots of inventory and lots of choices in the spring/summer buying season, buyers can be pickier—and give you more grief over little things—so by listing in January you can put the laws of supply and demand on your side.
- Higher affordability – Many economic and mortgage experts predict that mortgage rates will continue to steadily rise over the course of the year, which could decrease your pool of buyers as the year goes on. Home affordability for borrowers is likely to be at its highest point in the early months of 2017.
Additionally, many families are getting bonuses and salary raises in January and are planning what their financial picture will look like for the year, which may include buying a home. It’s also common for corporations to announce company transfers and new hires at the beginning of the year which can generate a sizeable crop of early-year buyers.
As a savvy seller, getting your home on the market early in the year could be your wisest decision of 2017. And keep in mind that listing early in the year may offer you and your buyer some added flexibility, which can be a good selling point. If you don’t really want to move in the winter we can try and negotiate a spring/summer closing timeline. So, if you are considering selling at all this year, give me a call as soon as possible so we can explore your options and come up with a successful plan.
Happy New Year!
Michelle
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