Year after Year I hear from Sellers in The Woodlands and Spring area just North of Downtown Houston "I will wait until Springtime to list my home. We are thinking towards the end of April."
The Popular Belief for many years is that homes just DO NOT sell as well during the Winter and before May.
Many Buyers and Sellers alike think that the time to sell is when School is out. Parents do not want to take their kids out of school and so on. The truth is, if you wait until the end of April or beginning of May to list your home, you may be missing out on MANY Prospective Buyers.
We have noticed in the past several years the 'Selling Season' start much earlier than usual. In 2004 we noticed a Drastic pick up in sales in March, even earlier in the following 2 years, and last year...Well, here I have a chart to explain it. The following chart is the 2007 Year at a Glance for a neighborhood in the area; Imperial Oaks.
This chart is broken down in to Average Days on Market, Average Price per Square Foot and Number of Homes Sold. Every Dot on the Chart represents a different month; left to right starting with January 2007.
This Chart tells us several things:
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From January to February, the number of homes sold jumped by nearly 10-A list month of November
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As we met April, the Days on Market dropped to well below 50- A list month of February
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Jump to May, when many believe homes start to sell it still shows an Avg. list month at the end of Feb.
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Homes listed in June averaged selling at the end of August and in September with little change in Price per square foot.
When Competing against many other homes in your neighborhood, it is imperative to stay ahead of the market and not chase it. This comes in to play with Timing, Price, Marketing and so on. Although we do not know that 2008 will follow the same trend as '07, with this chart in mind it is a good idea to List prior to April or May.
If you are considering Selling your Home within the next 6 months and would like some Information specific to Your Home and Your Neighborhood, please feel free to contact me for a Market Report to help you.
***All Statistics were gathered through HAR MLS.
©All charts and content Copyright to Stephanie Edwards-Musa, The Woodlands TX Real Estate 2007
Stephanie Edwards-Musa
Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors (R)
9000 Forest Crossing
The Woodlands, TX 77381
Direct Line: 281-635-9444
Stephanie,
You've made some good points on this one. March is usually one of my busiest months in the year.
Hi Katerina, Absolutely! :) Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Kay, Just goes to show that Real Estate is local. :) I know that your market is really different..and interesting with the Colleges so close. :)
Hi Dan, I used to say the same thing....but we have seen the selling season hit so much sooner in recent years...it's really quite interesting.
Hi Missy, You're Welcome. :) Glad to hear the Feb. 1st is a good time up there too!
Hi Teri, The selling season is almost here! :) I'm trying to get caught up with some stuff around the house because I know it will be here before we know it.
Hi Gary, What part? We have had quite a bit of incoming relocation in the past couple of years. With oil and gas prices being so high and continuing to climb, I forsee that trend to continue. We'll see. :) Where exactly people are coming from...everywhere. :)
Hi Lynda, Thanks!! December and February are my busiest months....odd, but true. :)