The Good and The Bad of Winter Home Selling
by Andrew Sundell
While we progress further into Fall and the air gets colder, some homeowners begin to wonder about winter home selling. Is it detrimental for value? To answer that question, we’ll look at some of the issues of listing your house during the winter. In addition, I will provide some tips on how to combat these issues.
Winter’s Impact on Marketing & Activity
You may be thinking that the cold & wet winter weather is going to translate into drab pictures & marketing. As a result, you’ll be portraying an inaccurate representation of your property. Perhaps you think that the impact of the weather on marketing may hurt your property’s sale price. However, this is not the case – and how can this be? If there are fewer buyers and less demand, this must impact the value…not always! Keep reading to discover why.
Smaller Pool of Active Buyers
Although there is typically a smaller pool of buyers in the winter, the same is true about home sellers. Many home sellers refuse to list their house during the winter – and as supply drops, buyer demand increases.
Contrarily, in some cases it could be argued that listing your house during the spring or summer can harm your home’s value. If a house lacks upgrades and is up against a large pool of more appealing competition, it can linger which can affect value. But of course, virtually all houses will sell at the right price…
Recently Sold Comparable Properties
The list price of your house is typically determined using a comparative market analysis. In short, this is a listing of similar recently sold homes in your area that your sales agent will provide. By comparing your property’s features to those of similar recently sold properties, you get a good indication of what the market will be willing to pay for your house.
In addition, the buyer’s agent will run this same comp when his or her buyers would like to put in an offer. These ‘comps’ support your home’s value through time, regardless of the season. To elaborate, comps for your winter home sale can date back several months to the summer or even spring, so you are not inherently knocking value off by listing in the winter.
My Thoughts on Winter Home Selling
I believe it is untrue in many cases that a house will sell for less in the winter. I have helped many clients successfully sell their homes in the winter at great values. Despite the effects the winter has on buyer activity, the most important factors for getting your house sold are the right list price, the desirability of your property type & location, and the right agent. Additionally, each property is unique so you will have to weigh the potential impact the winter could have on yours.
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