90 Day Seller Forecast

Homeowners looking to upgrade, downsize, or relocate, often wonder what time of year is the best time to sell their current property. It is a common misconception among prospective sellers, that there is a specific month or season that will ensure a quick sale and that there are months or seasons when it is not a good idea to list your property for sale. The truth is, we successfully sell homes every month of the year with little change in values from one season to the next. What does impact the values of properties is the actual real estate market and whether it is in an upward or downward trend. That said, when looking to sell your property, the biggest consideration regarding when to list it is your time frame for closing the sale. To get an idea of how long it may take to receive an offer after listing their property, sellers should look at similar properties that have closed and see how long they were on the market. Generally for a property to sell within 30 days the property must be priced right, be of very high demand and have very little competition. If you are not in a hurry to sell your property and are open to a longer sales cycle, we will discuss below how the seasons can affect you, because while the month or season doesn’t affect the value or salability of your home, it does affect the way your property should be marketed. Different seasons attract different kinds of buyers and a professional real estate agent will know how to best market for each season’s homebuyers.

WINTER homebuyers are usually less concerned with details and eager to close. Winter homebuyers are often buying because they’ve recently sold a property or have moved, and typically they don’t have a lot of time so they look for properties that fit their general parameters and don’t get bogged down in the details. In Florida, winter is also when we see the greatest influx of snowbirds from the north, Canada, Europe and South America, making winter a wonderful time to sell your property because of the surplus of prospective buyers.

SPRING - Homebuyers searching for property in the spring are often families looking to move after the school year ends. Not always, but often buyers starting the process in the spring time will be happy to close during early or mid-summer. Sometimes these springtime buyers will have property they are trying to sell at the same time. Sellers can often lure these potential buyers by offering to pay closing costs or offering other “incentives” to make the process easier for the springtime buyers.

SUMMER - While not always the case, oftentimes homebuyers starting the process in the summer months are wanting to close prior to the beginning of the school year. Summer buyers are usually easily won over because it is during this time that curb appeal is at its best. With lush and tidy landscaping it is easy to impress a summer home buyer, and often summer buyers are cheery and agreeable because of summer vacations, abundant sunshine, and similar summertime advantages.

FALL is also a wonderful time to list your property for sale because typically there are fewer homes available during this time, which means less competition. Homebuyers searching for properties in the fall tend to be highly motivated, most wanting to close before the onset of winter. Because of the decreased number of homes for sale, fall homebuyers tend to be less hung up on details and more concerned with the property’s ability to meet their overall needs and desires. While every property is different, knowing your audience will help you attract motivated homebuyers and get the most money for your property.