There is a common misconception that no one buys a house in winter, so there's really no point in having your house on the market. In fact, a lot of sellers don't even bother trying to bring a home on the market in the winter months.Or they may have a home that's still for sale after a few months, so they take it off the market to give themselves a break during the holiday season. (After all, it's a lot of work to keep a house show-ready!)
But if your circumstances require listing your house in winter, take heart: There are a few good reasons to list your Mercer Island home in winter. Check out my post from last year, "Why Winter Can Be a Good Time to Buy or Sell a House" to learn more.
Having both listed homes and worked with buyers in the winter, I'd say the biggest advantage for sellers is the buyer who are out shopping for a home on Mercer Island are more motivated. The casual lookers are at home eating turkey and pie, waiting for the sun to come out again.
Find out what's happening in Mercer Islandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Buyers, you may find that sellers could be more likely to make a deal in winter since it's likely they've already been on the market for a month or more and are ready to wheel and deal. Many sellers may also be motivated to close by the end of the year for tax reasons.
Take a look at the graphic above showing King County sales data from November 2011 through October 31, 2013. Remember, the number of closed transactions in a given month reflects the number that went PENDING (under contract) a month or two before. So when we look at the chart and see that the lowest number of sales were in January and February, that's because there are fewer homes that went pending in November and December. Then, take a look at pending sales in January and February: There's a significant jump! More house hunters are back in the game, raring to go after the holidays.
Find out what's happening in Mercer Islandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Going on the market in winter is not a death sentence, it just requires a little different strategy to get those cold, wet buyers in the door of YOUR home(which happens to be cheery, warm, and welcoming) and work out a deal! After all, it takes dedication to go out house hunting when it's 40 degrees and raining sideways. Appeal to those hard-core, motivated buyers looking for a new home on Mercer Island and give yourself the gift of a sold house.