You may want to sell your home because of various reasons. It could be because your children have moved out and you want to downgrade, you intend to start a family and require more room, have gotten a new job and want to live closer to your office, or because you want to change your environment and lifestyle. However, before listing your property, you need to know the best time to sell your house.
According to the real estate experts, the time of buying a house may be quite different from the time of selling it. Buyers will generally require low prices and discounts, making them choose periods when there’s low demand.
On the other hand, as a seller, you’d want to sell your house at a period that you’ll get maximum value for it. That’s why the best time to sell a house isn’t really about the months or days within a year, but about other factors as well.
Here are some things that may influence the time to sell your house.
1. Holiday And Weather
These two are vital factors in selling a home. Few people buy houses during summer vacations and Christmas because they want to enjoy their holidays. It would be best to put your house on the market during the late summer and spring because of the steadily growing buyer demand. During the warmer months, when the weather is excellent, and the flowers are pretty, sales are highest. This is the best time to display your home.
However, summer may be ideal for families with school-aged children because they may not want to move in between the school year. August may not be a good month because people are going on holiday and thinking about the new school year. But in January, buyers are in demand, and sales increase until spring.
2. Local Housing Market
Selling in the hot season may be ideal because of the huge number of buyers. However, the local housing market will also impact the price you sell your house. Expert realtors advise that you list your home during seller’s markets. That’s because, during this period, homebuyers are competing to buy houses. That means quicker closings, better prices, and fewer conditions. If you don’t know how to read the housing market, ensure you work with an experienced real estate agent.
On the other hand, it would be ideal to purchase a house during the buyer’s market. This is important if you intend to sell a house and buy another one. It can also help you if you’ve collected considerable equity from your current home.
3. Economy
Interest rates dramatically affect the prices of homes. If the rates are higher than your current mortgage, it would be best to continue living in your current home because the new mortgage payments may be uncomfortable. On the other hand, if the rates are lower, you can sell and buy a more expensive home because it’ll not significantly increase your mortgage obligations.
Some factors, such as job relocation may leave you with no choice but to sell your home at a slow time of the year. Freeing up assets may also deny you the opportunity to put your house on the market during the spring bloom. However, you can still enhance your sale chances by adding holiday decorations, maximizing curb appeal, and shovelling walkways.
You want to avoid selling your home in a quiet market. Instead, make it a rule to sell it within 6-8 weeks after listing. This will ensure you sell it when it’s still fresh. When the listing period becomes outdated, buyers may get suspicious and think that something is wrong with your home. That may make them avoid it and damage your opportunity of selling it at the best price.
Tips For Selling Your Property
Apart from knowing the best time of selling your property in Calgary, you also need to have strategies and creativity to receive a top dollar. Here are some tips you can use to sell your property.
1. Set The Right Price Tag For Your Home
You can know the value of your property from several sources. One of the main ways is to conduct an assessment like checking the cost of living Calgary. However, this is highly dependent on market conditions. Alternatively, hiring a realtor can help you set a more accurate price and prevent you from overestimating.
Some sellers who set prices higher than the market price may end up having their listings unsold for up to 90 days. If this happens, the property will be deemed overpriced and may receive little showings. Most buyers aren’t willing to pay unrealistic prices that are above the average market asking prices.
2. Empty Your Closets
Every buyer intending to purchase a house will consider the storage area that a home has. They’ll want to know if there’s enough space to store their stuff. During the viewing process, some buyers may become snoopy about the space available in rooms and closets.
If you don’t want to receive a negative review and reputation, it would be necessary to declutter your closets and cabinets by removing seasonal and unnecessary items. You should arrange whatever’s left inside to give an impression of space and cleanliness. A realtor can give you great advice on how to perform these processes.
3. Don’t Over-Upgrade
Some quick fixes and maintenances before selling your home can help you find a buyer quickly. However, you want to be careful not to overdo makeovers. If you spend a lot of money on upgrades before selling your property, it’s not a guarantee you’ll get your money back.
Therefore, it’s vital to minimize upgrades and concentrate only on those that pay off and give you high returns. It may be worth replacing curtains, repainting walls, fixing closet doors, cleaning the grout, and fixing leaky faucets.
Bottom Line
Timing the real estate market can be compared to predicting financial markets. Although you can make broad assessments, accurate predictions will help you get the best prices for your property. However, with the right strategies and tips, you may sell your home at any time of the year because buyers are looking for property every day.