By Mark Hite, President
Greater Chattanooga Association of REALTORS®
Summer has come to a close. You may be wondering whether you have waited too late to sell your house this year. Here are some facts to help you decide.
While the peak selling months for residential home sales are May through August, home sales occur in every month of the year and at varying levels. Of the 9,717 homes sales in the last 12 months, 32% of those sold in the September to December timeframe. To bring it down further in the most recent year we saw: September at 9%, October at 8%, November at 7% and December came in at 8% of the total sales. These sales amounts ranged from 701 to 879 homes sold per month, compared to June 2017’s high of 983 closed units.
In the not too distant past, it was perceived that all families moved during the summer months when children were out of school. This simply does not hold true in today’s market. Since our winters are mild, the home shopping season begins immediately after the first of the year and continues into the holiday season. Also, the internet allows today’s buyers to preview properties regardless of temperatures or weather conditions.
There are many reasons home purchases occur, regardless of the month or season – birth or adoption of a child and needing more space; children leaving the nest and no longer need the extra space; the aging process and inability to live independently; a positive (or negative) change in job/financial position that enables (or forces) a move. In addition to these factors, other motivations are marriages and divorces. Absolutely none of these factors are tied to school calendars or seasons of the year.
Because of the age-old perception that Spring/Summer is the best time to sell, many home owners have held off entering the market until the following year. This habit has lessened the number of potential new properties coming to market and reduces overall supply. With less supply and fairly stable sales levels, a Fall/Winter seller actually has less competition than the peak Spring/Summer seller. In our current “sellers” market this may provide further advantage to home sellers this fall/winter.
So, now that you have these facts, you can see that it is not too late to sell your home this year. Call on REALTOR® to prepare a market analysis of your home. A REALTOR® can give you insight into what your home may be worth and how long it should take to sell this Fall/Winter.