It seems a lot of rules are being redefined so far in 2017 and that may also apply to the rules of when Santa Fe listings are best initiated. If the National Association of Realtor’s® (NAR) news site is correct, it’s a definite possibility that the listing rules might bend this year.
Real estate history has long demonstrated that the best time to add your home sale to the market is in spring or summer. When you analyze the amount of home sales from most years, those months do hold a lot of appeal. There are exceptions, of course, but in general spring and summer are when sales volumes jump.
Last month, the Realtor® Web site published an article in their Trends section with the following Headline: “This Year, Sellers May Benefit from Listing Early.” The reasoning, according to the article, was almost confusing as three of the four listed facts seemed to indicate an opposite conclusion.
Here are the facts they listed in their reasoning:
Here are the facts they listed in their reasoning:
Supply. It’s a fact that throughout the country the residential inventory (supply) is sharply reduced. According to the NAR, “Inventory levels at the beginning of 2017 are at multiyear lows.” Thus, homeowners who list now “face very little competition.”
Demand. Traditionally, the late fall and winter months, have been a time period of weak demand. However, the threat of mortgage rate hikes – then the actual rises – may have been all that was required to establish a growing sense of urgency among home buyers. Early results show a home buyer demand that’s “abnormally strong” for this time of year.
Optimism. With consumer confidence at a 15-year high, once the spring home buying season is underway in earnest, Santa Fe home buyers might find themselves in “buying competition” that will “get fierce.”
These trends are all well-documented. Yet at first examination, these listing and home buying trends seem to argue against listing your home now. After all, past real estate tradition seems to indicate that holding off until the fierce competition takes hold is the way to go. However, a fourth fact changes everything:
Sellers Will be Buyers. Overwhelmingly, national surveys suggest that the homeowners behind most listings, Santa Fe and throughout the country. will also become home buyers once they have sold their property. In fact, an estimated 85% of American home sellers plan to buy another home after their sale! If those percentages are correct, then it’s not surprising that they’ll be grateful for a potential quick sale in the winter market. That will not only help them get a jump on the crowd come springtime, but could also lengthen the odds that they can cash in on mortgage rates before those rates rise substantially. All of a sudden, the net advantage to listing early could be substantial!
So what’s the takeaway from all this? It is that 2017 deserves a second look when it comes to simply accepting the old common wisdom. It might be time to reassess your timing for your Santa Fe listing. Give me a call if you’d like to discuss how your plans fit into today’s broader residential picture – and how to take maximum advantage of this year’s market! Darlene Streit – 505.920.8001.