Okay…..I know what’s on your mind right now if you are even remotely thinking about selling your house…..SHOULD I WAIT UNTIL SPRING TO LIST MY HOUSE OR DO IT NOW?

No worries.  Everybody wonders that about this time of year. 

I usually tell people that while Spring is a good time to sell since more buyers will be out, there will also be more competition since many sellers wait until then.  More demand, sure.  More supply too.  Also…..if your house isn’t on the market, you have a 0% chance of selling it.  Plus, people do buy houses in the winter……why can’t it be your’s?

Another thing people wonder about is how buyer’s will perceive a house that has been on the market all winter.  I hate to be a cliché buster, but any buyer who is actively looking at houses in November, and hasn’t found one by March is someone who probably isn’t gonna buy a house anyway.  Don’t worry about them!  Also, with all the inventory we now have, seeing a house that has been on the market 6+ months isn’t that alarming to anybody.

Here is how you get the best of both worlds.  List it now……price it right, do great pictures, express in the marketing remarks what is unique about your house, but if it is still around come spring do these:

1)  Update your pictures.  In the spring nobody wants to see what your house looks like with a foot of snow on the roof.  As soon as the grass is green and you have the first pretty day, get some new pics made!

2)  Delete the listing and put it back on with a new MLS number at the same time.  That erases the days on market from the public side of the MLS.

3) And most importantly, make any adjustments needed before you do all this, or else you may end up not getting a buyer all year again.  If after a few showings, people have said they didn’t like the paint, the carpet needs replaced, or the price is too high, make those changes now.  If there is a problem with how buyers perceive your house now, having more buyers tell you the same thing in the spring won’t really accomplish your goal of selling.

Soooooo, what do you think?