The best time to sell your Berkshire home.
When is the best time to put my Berkshire home on the market?
The best time to place your Berkshire home on the market is when you have committed to the decision to sell your home and are firmly committed to moving forward.
Myths still exist in the real estate business about waiting until spring to place your home on the market. Why? Before the internet and high-speed travel, most people shopped for homes by driving around neighborhoods.
They often had a black and white real estate listing book in hand as they drove past homes for sale. This method of home shopping took time and good weather. Although time may have been readily available BEFORE dual working partners and kids with multifaceted sport schedules, the weather did not often co-operate. Weather in the Berkshires in the winter and early spring months is not always conducive to afternoon pleasure drives. Spring in the Berkshires however was great time to get out and shop for a home by car. Thus the recommendation of listing your home in the spring when the market was beginning to peak.
Also, during the years when baby boomers were putting kids through school, working to climb corporate ladders and co-ordinate all the social activities of those growing kids moving during a school month was just too difficult in the winter months. Many of these boomer couples did wait until the spring to begin their search in hopes that by the start of the school year the new house would be bought, the move would be done and life would go on smoothly in the new town or state.
As baby boomers age and their children have fewer kids we are seeing schools closing or merging in order to bolster lagging budgets. Fewer families with kids, partners waiting to have children until they are well over 30 and a growing population of empty nesters have shattered the myth of waiting until spring to place your home on the real estate market. No longer are "school" and "children" the major concerns in a decision of when to buy a home. These days it is more likely to be a retirement town or second recreation home for the weekends that buyers are looking for. And many of these buyers are empty nesters, well educated and savvy bargain shoppers.
Myths exist in the real estate business about waiting until after the holidays to place your home on the market because home sales are "slow" during the holiday season. While it is true that home sales do go down during the holiday season (also a prime time for real estate agents to vacation) home sales do not stop.
People continue to buy homes whether winter, spring, summer or fall. In fact placing your home on the market in the winter can be to your advantage, as you are not competing with all the new homes that will appear on the market at the beginning of spring. Less competition means better odds that your home will attract a buyer. Consider it the lottery of real estate--- fewer homes=fewer tickets thus giving you better odds that you will be the winner of the buyer lottery.
Traditionally spring and summer see a tremendous rise in new homes coming on the market. In a buyer's market, the competition for attention is fierce among sellers during this six-month period. If you wait to place your home on the market during this highly competitive season you may need to drop the beginning price to attract buyers to your property or at least offer some sort of incentive to real estate agents to sell your home such as a bonus finder's fee.
All these myths and facts aside, well-informed homebuyers today will begin to shop from home via the net well in advance of getting into the car. Most begin at least 6 months before they decide to make an offer with some beginning a year in advance to shop for housing. No longer does the homebuyer travel to a town to drive around for a day looking for homes that are for sale.
The internet has become the Amazon.com mall for homebuyers. Buyers looking to retire in the Berkshires may live in Long Island New York or Boston MA or even as far away as Los Angeles. These buyers are shopping via the internet. Here at Harsch we follow our website statistics and see that many of our buyers are from New York city and the surrounding states including Southern Vt., adjacent New York State, Rhode Island, Connecticutt and New Jersey.
When listing your property disregard the seasons and the myths. Your most important choice is to list with an agency that can reach as many websites as possible and can present your home in the best light and can offer you full realty services from the beginning of the transaction all the way through to the closing date when you turn over the key to your SOLD home. Harsch Associates Berkshire Real Estate has been doing this for 35 years. We sell homes in every season and in every circumstance. We are here for you when you decide to sell. Remember the time to list your property is when you are firmly committed to selling and moving forward. Contact Harsch and we will be with you every step of the way.