Is Now the Best Time to Take Advantage of the Market as a Home Seller?

If you’re deciding between selling your home now or in the spring, there’s one obvious answer. Here’s why selling NOW could net you more.

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We’re having conversations every day with sellers who are either thinking about a 2020 sale or who have been on the market this year and are deciding to wait until next spring. This concerns me.

You see, we are actually seeing a softening of prices here in Metro Atlanta right now. Homes priced above $400,000 are experiencing a decline in average sales price and longer days on market. In one of the ZIP codes where we do a lot of our business, the average sales price has dropped by 11% from its peak in 2017. 

It’s important to understand where prices are going in your neighborhood to see if prices are trending down, up, or staying flat. If you're in an area where prices are trending down, it might be time to have a serious conversation about selling now so you can net more. 

Keep in mind that we’re heading into an election year next year. This will likely result in more and more buyers taking a wait-and-see approach to purchasing a home. I’ve been selling homes for over 20 years and I’ve yet to see an election cycle have a negative effect on the housing market. 

Something else to think about is that when you sell in the fourth quarter of the year, it results in so much less listing competition than you’d have in the spring or summer. We all know that it’s much easier to win a buyer when the buyer has fewer homes to choose from. This can make the entire process easier and faster in the third and fourth quarters of the year as opposed to the first and second quarters.

Many people believe that homes don’t sell in the winter here in Metro Atlanta. That couldn't be further from the truth. Did you know that sales in the fourth quarter are only about 20% less than what they are at the height of the market? That’s really not that big of a difference. With our temperate climate and good job security here in Atlanta, we simply don’t experience the same seasonal cycles as other markets in the country.

One more reason to seriously consider a fourth quarter home sale is because this is the time of year when we have the most serious buyers. The buyers who are looking out for homes these days have a strong reason to be out looking for homes during this time of year. Corporate relocations tend to happen around this time as well. We’ve helped many buyers purchase their homes on weekend shopping trips in November and December so they can be ready to start their new jobs in January. 

One more thing you should know: December is typically our second-biggest month for home sales. If you still think that waiting until spring or summer is the right idea for you, I strongly urge you to reconsider. If you have any questions or would like more information, don’t hesitate to reach out and give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.