If you’re thinking about selling your home, you may be waiting until spring to put your house on the market. If you are, that’s great – the sun will be shining, people will be out and about and your garden will be blooming. Yet contrary to popular belief, we recently chatted to a few real estate agents on our panel regarding the best time to sell and received feedback that there can actually be a risk in waiting until spring time comes around to list your property on the market. They highlighted the benefits of selling in winter which we’ve summarised below.
The agents we spoke to are seeing between 2 and 3 bidders compete at auction. A higher number of potential buyers coupled with strong clearance rates suggests that now is a great time to get your property on the market. We’ve just hit a 12 month high with a 69% clearance rate for both New South Wales and Victoria.
Remember, when spring time arrives, there’ll be lots of other sellers putting their property on the market due to the common belief that spring achieves the best sales. Properties may indeed present better in spring. However, the decision to wait until spring may not equate to a better sale price.
If you list your property in the coming weeks, you’ll be looking to sell your house by the end of winter, beating the competition that comes with selling in spring.
Benefits of selling in winter:
1. Fewer homes on the market means less competition. This means your property will likely get more attention from those active buyers in the market as they have fewer properties to choose from. If you set your asking price at a realistic figure, you may in fact achieve a higher than anticipated result as buyers fight for your property.
2. You may be able to negotiate a higher sale price with buyers as they won’t have the luxury of choice between multiple properties, and therefore their motivation to move to or invest in a particular area may drive up their purchase price.
3. You can stage your property for winter. If you own a warm and cosy property in a cooler location, it may in fact present better in the winter time. If you get professional photography done, your listing may in fact stand out with flattering night time shots of your property lit up.
4. Your real estate agent will very likely have more time on their hands to focus on getting you the best outcome possible.
Depending on your location, recent sales in the area and your personal situation, now may or may not be the most suitable time for you to sell. The best way to find out is by meeting with a couple of different real estate agents to get a market appraisal and discuss your unique selling situation.