Are you wondering whether you should keep your home on the market during the winter months? The answer depends on how motivated you are to make a move this year. Are you just "testing the waters"? Or are you really serious about selling or renting out your home this year? Here are a few things to think about:
1. We sell and rent out homes 12 months a year.
Yes, demand tends to dip in the winter months but so does supply. So the market balances itself, i.e., less supply and less demand equals a slower but steady market. So, yes, if you are truly motivated to make a move, keep your home on the market during the winter months. The laws of supply and demand will balance out the market and you will be in a good position to attract a serious buyer or tenant.
>> See When Is The Best Time To Put Your Home On The Rental Market?
2. Renters and buyers who are searching during the winter months tend to be more motivated.
These renters and buyers who are out in the colder months are not "tire kickers." Anyone who is schlepping around in the cold weather and dark of night looking at homes is serious. If they are thinking about uprooting their kids in January or near the holiday time, they are definitely motivated to make a move. So know that even if the number of showings on your home declines, the motivation of the remaining buyers and tenants is very real.
>> See Why You Need A Buyer's Agent To Help You Buy A Home
3. If you are not serious about selling or renting out your home, Please Remove It From the Market!
If you are not serious about renting out or selling your home, please remove it from the market. This is for (a) the benefit of yourself, (b) the benefit of your prospective buyer or renter and (c) for the benefit of your neighbors.
Here is how removing your home from the market benefits you:
- If you are not serious and your home is on the market, your "days on market" is going to increase. Buyers are smart these days. They know what homes are worth and they have access to a lot of data and information. If your home is overpriced, in poor condition or inaccessible, buyers will just skip your home. Accumulating days on market does not benefit you in any way and, when you do get serious at a later date, buyers will have access to the old information and may wonder what is wrong with your home, i.e., why your home was on the market for 120 days and did not go under contract. If you are not ready to make a move, take your home off the market, enjoy the holidays and reevaluate your goals at a later date.
Here is how removing your home from the market benefits the buyers/renters:
- Moving is stressful. Buyers and renters who are looking at homes during the winter months are cold and tired and just want to get their families into a home as seamlessly as possible. Buyers today, armed with lots of online information, just want to negotiate honestly and fairly so that they can check this off their list, start the new job or new relationship and settle in to start their next chapter. If you are not serious and not ready to make a move, please, remove your home from the market. Wasting your time, the buyers' time and the agents' time is not going to put you in a positive light with the public and, with social media these days, you don't need buyers/renters writing negative reviews about you and your property.
Here is how removing your home from the market benefits other homeowners in your area:
- If you are not serious about moving, then being on the market hurts your neighbors who are serious and, eventually, you too. You drive up supply numbers and may leave a bad impression on buyers or renters interested in the community because you are not negotiating fairly. Selling and renting out your home is serious business and, if you are not ready to make a move, your lack of motivation may hurt your neighbors who are truly motivated to get on with their lives. And, if your neighbors' homes don't sell or rent out, those numbers are public and could eventually hurt you when you do decide to make a move. So, for the sake of your neighbors, if you are not serious, please take your home off of the market.
>> See Why Isn't My Home Getting Any Showings?
4. Once the unmotivated Sellers or Landlords leave the market, wintertime is a GREAT time to sell or rent out a home!
Why is winter a great time to make a move? We know that everyone is serious. They are ready. Who uproots their kids before the holidays unless they are really serious? No one. We love winter transactions. Though they may be fewer, they tend to be pleasant, honest and more straightforward.
So give us a call whenever you are ready. 12 months a year, Yaffe Real Estate is open for business and here to help you. No pressure, I promise.
>> See Why Choose Yaffe Real Estate For All Your Baltimore Real Estate Needs
