So, it’s the middle of January and you find yourself needing to list your house for sale. Maybe you FINALLY received that out of state job offer you’ve been waiting for! Or maybe you are moving in order to be closer to a family member who has fallen ill. Regardless of the reason, you must sell now. You may find yourself worried, as many sellers are concerned about listing their house for sale during the winter months.
The general consensus is that you really should wait to list your house in the spring or summer months. More children are of out school or in between school years so a change in schools resulting from a move will be less impactful on children than switching schools during the middle of a school year. Additionally, buyers are more eager to shop for a house in the summer due to the longer and warmer days of the spring and summer months make it much easier for buyers to shop for a house than during the short cold days of the winter months.
This reality may leave you feeling stressed about having to list your house in the middle of winter! Well do not fear, this post will outline the benefits you’ll have selling your house in the winter rather than waiting until the spring or summer. In fact, some experts agree that it may be best to sell your house in the winter.
It is true, there are fewer home sales during winter than other seasons of the year. However, part of the reason is that there are far fewer houses being listed for sale during the winter! In fact, many houses that are listed in the winter sell much quicker than those houses listed during other seasons. The reason being that for homebuyers looking to purchase a home in the winter, there are far fewer options to choose from. Additionally, buyers are often more serious about buying a house during the winter months than those looking at houses during the warmer months. Someone is far less likely to go window-shopping for a house when it’s cold outside!
When you list your house for sale in the winter, your listing agent will often have more time to dedicate to the sale and marketing of your house. There are far fewer home sale transactions and far fewer buyers wanting to look at houses in the winter which results in more time on the hands of your agent to give your property the attention it deserves. Additionally, slower sales in winter mean your agent is taking home less in commissions during this time, so they may be even more motivated to find a buyer for your house so that they can ensure a relatively steady paycheck during this time.
If you find yourself with a house that is not in list-ready condition but you need to sell fast, many more investors are looking to purchase homes in the winter months because it allows them the necessary time to fix up the house to resell during the spring and summer months. Creo Home Buyers is a local house buying company in Maryland. We buy houses in Maryland for this purpose. So if you find yourself in a situation where you need to sell your house but do not have the time or resources to make it list-ready, feel free to contact us to see if selling without using a realtor or paying an agent’s commissions may be a good fit for your selling your house in Maryland.