Egg nog.
Endless crowds at Short Pump.
Your favorite team missing the playoffs…?
Its December!
Housing Sale! One Month Only!
Yes, it is that time of the year again. The time when our attention turns to company parties, preparing for the in-laws, and waiting for the first, and possibly only, big snowfall.
Housing, for most of us, could not be further from our minds.
And that is precisely the reason why now is the perfect time to be thinking about housing.
The Numbers are in Your Favor
The chart below tracks inventory (yellow) relative to buyers (purple).
Over the course of the year, the number of listings available at any given time increases anywhere from 20-25%, but the number of homes under contract increases by nearly 100%! In other words, buyers nearly double but inventory only dips by a fraction.
And look at what happened to pricing in the last several springs. The median price increased by $20,000 to $30,000 from the beginning of the year to the latter part of spring.
The graphs shows what happens to pricing as we go through the year. (Remember that these charts reflect the prices on the closing date. In reality, the price was set 45 to 90 days prior when the home went under contract.) As one would expect, when the number of buyers increase, prices tend to rise.
And, finally, check this out:
The percentage of a discount that the seller is willing to take increases substantially as well from well over 99% to just over 97%. Why? They know that if they don’t sell, then they will have to carry the home for 3 to 4 more months. And this is doubly true if the home is vacant and/or new.
What Are You Waiting For?!?
So let’s review:
- Inventory, while not as high as the spring, is still extremely reasonable.
- Pricing becomes discounted in the fall and winter and accelerates in the spring.
- Your competition (i.e. the number of buyers) is down by at least half, if not more.
- Sellers are nervous and willing to take far bigger discounts.
I don’t know about you, but that sounds like the best time of year to buy to me.
Ask any experienced agent and they will undoubtedly tell you that the winter time is when you can find the best deals and extract the best terms.
Don’t miss out.
