Is there ever a good time to sell your home or investment property? Yes and no. It all depends on where you live based on north or south of the ‘frost line’ to keep it simple. For those of you who live in the south where the weather is nice year around, I have noticed that there is no ‘slow’ sales period for realtors. The exception may be during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
However, for those who live where we have wonderful snow fall, you can pretty much be certain that your greatest sales are made when the snow fall is over and the income tax returns arrive for most folks. For example, Wichita, KS is known to have its highest sales during the month of March thru June., with April and May being your top 2 sales months. Summer sales move but not nearly as high as the springtime. Usually, by September there is a noticeable slump as school season starts and then the winter holidays arrive. The worst three months for us are December thru February.
But does it mean your house won’t sell during that time? Absolutely not! There are still sales going on, but usually you lose 90% of your potential buyers/renters at that time of year and your home may stay on the market for quite a while.
So, if you want a fast sale on your home or investment property, then you usually want to have all your home upgrades and projects done over the winter months so that your property is ready for the high sales time of year! For starters, all contract work over the winter months is cheaper. Contractors are starving for work at that time of year and turn around time is quicker because they have less work projects. Last, your home, which should be in top shape and ultra clean, will be ready for the big sales period. In turn, your property should be the first on the market and be one of the first to sell. You know you will have priced it right for the condition it is in if you have a contract on it within 2 weeks. Never give a buyer any reason to turn down your property with the exception of location, size, or pre-determined structural layout (all factors beyond seller’s control).
Does it have to be perfect and updated? Not necessarily. But if you wish to remove all sales doubts and get the highest money on your property, than be prepared to overhaul your property to bring it up to date if you haven’t done so already in addition to just having it clean and simple for the next buyer.
Cristi