There are two kinds of listing:
- The listings that are so desirable based on price/condition/location that EVERY buyer currently in the market wants it.
- All the other listings.
If you have one of those houses that makes people hear angels sing as soon as they walk through the door, are in an extremely desirable neighborhood, have priced your house to sell, or any combination of all that, congrats, your house will sell quickly any time of the year. You have nothing to be worried about. Spring is good. Summer is good. Fall is good. And yes, winter is good too.
If your house isn’t one of those, then you need to tweak everything you can if you want the coveted “SOLD” sign in your front yard. You have what I call the Bridesmaid house because you know that saying, right?
Every year, people ask whether they should wait to list, or take their house off the market until spring. My answer has always been no.
Why?
Because if you have a Bridesmaid house, there is always going to be a better house on the market all other times of the year. I see it happen all the time. A listing that is always the buyer’s second or third choice stays a second or third choice as long as those better houses keep coming on the market in the spring, summer and fall.
In the winter, there are far fewer buyers but there are also far fewer great listings. Winter buyers typically have to settle for what is left over from the fall. Picture this…..you’re at a Chinese buffet for lunch. It’s 12:55. There is one greasy looking Crab Rangoon. All the General Zhao’s Chicken left are those thin, hard looking pieces that you think are really cat meat. You are the only one at the buffet and nothing looks good. Then, somebody comes out from the kitchen with some fresh food. Even if it is just Pork Lo Mein, you eat it because it is the best thing available.
That is how the winter market works.
So, if you are ready to sell your house now, there is no need to wait until spring. If you have been on the market without an offer, now really is your best shot at selling.
Your Lexington Kentucky Neighborhood Expert 