Should I list my home now, or wait until Spring?

Should I list my home now, or wait until spring?

I’m sure it’s the most commonly asked question between Jan. 20 and March 1! The answer is short and easy this year: List it now, List it now, List it now! I am confident this is the right answer because of four things.

1. Low inventory! Our current level of inventory is lower than it has been since 2006.  The number of active listings dipped to 18,000 (+/- a few hundred) in 2005.  We currently have 19,000 (+ a few hundred) homes actively listed on the market.  Compare this level to 2008 when we reached 48,000 (+/-) active listings.  This data is for the entire area covered  by the NorthstarMLS system.  The MLS covers a lot of geographic area including the entire 13 county Metro area.

2. Weather! Our unseasonably warm weather makes for happy home buyers! Buyer activity in the south-of-the-river suburbs is picking up.  Buyer activity usually increases noticeably during February and into March.

3. Beat the foreclosure wave! There are reports of large volumes of foreclosures coming to the market soon!  These reports stem from the ‘repo-signing’ incident last year.  Many banks halted their foreclosure processes or slowed them down considerably to be sure they are complying with the law.  This has created a backlog of foreclosures, coming to the market soon.  I did read an article recently which said the way foreclosure homes are counted inflates these numbers. I’ll summarize that in a post soon.

4. Get feedback! Listen to the feedback your home receives from potential buyers and make needed adjustments!  If you list your home sooner, you will have the added benefit of hearing the feedback from buyers and your listing agent.  This allows you to correct any conditions, expand the marketing or adjust the price before the surge of spring market buyers has peaked.  Read my previous post about Listen to the Feedback for more information.

Inventory levels for our area look like this: (using all active listings on Feb. 1, 2012 and using the number of homes sold and closed between Feb. 1 – April 30 in 2011)

Homes for Sale in Apple Valley  221     Homes Sold in Apple Valley last year    157
Homes for Sale in Burnsville      227     Homes Sold in Burnsville last year       178
Homes for Sale in Farmington    140     Homes Sold in Farmington last year    104
Homes for Sale in Lakeville       272      Homes Sold in Lakeville last year        168
Homes for Sale in Eagan           217      Homes Sold in Eagan last year           147
Home for Sale in Prior Lake       223      Homes Sold in Prior Lake last year        98
Homes for Sale in Savage         137      Homes Sold in Savage last year            89
Homes for Sale in Rosemount     82       Homes Sold in Rosemount last year      78

This is a promising picture; the number of homes sold represents three months of buyer purchases.  If we have as many buyers in Apple Valley this spring as we did last year, we will sell 70% of the current inventory!

Each day new homes will be listed for sale, changing this chart rapidly.  I’ll be curious to compare the number of homes sold south of the river in spring 2011 to spring 2012.

If you would like to know How Much your Home is Worth, let me know and we will be happy to get you on our schedule for an evaluation.