Timing is everything
We know that the decrease in temperature affects attitude. Nesting instincts kick in and we begin thinking of soups rather than salads. Comfort foods replace convenient foods as we begin to alter our activities. Even in North Idaho where we have plenty to do outdoors all year long, activities tend to move indoors to the warmth of a fire or other heat source.
It is also in the fall when many people change their perspective on marketing their real estate. Aggressive listing agents often hear, "We do want to sell, but we will wait until spring." Too bad the folks speaking those words do not realize that the time to have your home on the market is when people are buying. They are buying now, they were buying last summer and they will buy this winter.
As of the end of September we had sold 2,227 single family homes in 2014 as reported to the Coeur d'Alene Multiple Listing Service. Those who believe that buyers are only looking in fair weather are obviously not aware that from Oct. 1 to March 31 we posted sales of 1,124 single family homes on lots less than 2 acres in size. Don't look now, but that is nearly half of our total sales this year to date.
The reality is, people always need homes. People get transferred, people become infirm, people die and people have children. All are reasons to move and all happen all year long. In marketing your home there can only be one certainty; if your home is not on the market it will not sell. Of course that is not to mean that putting it on the market guarantees a sale. The only guarantee is that if it is not on the market it is very unlikely that it will sell unless to a neighbor, relative or close friend at a likely discount.
It is easy to see why people look for reasons to take their homes off the market, not just in the fall and winter, but any time of year. It is tiresome to always keep your best foot forward. Constant cleaning and straightening up can really cut into the time you dedicate to kicking back and enjoying your home. Then too, there are the constant interruptions from your hardworking agent or your 'for sale by owner' ads which try to bring you interested buyers. It can be exhausting.
Add to that the stress of preparing yourself emotionally to part with your family history, however brief that may be. Your home, of course, is your domain if not your castle and it is usually something that gives you pleasure. After weeks or months of anticipation and the ultimate conclusion that it is time to move on it can be stressful at best when someone does not immediately recognize the opportunity you have given them to own your perfectly good home.
Taking the home off the market, or delaying putting it up for sale could be a costly mistake. Why would you choose to miss an opportunity to place your home into the care of a recently married couple or job transferree? Once you have made the decision to sell is the best time to market and to market aggressively. Sitting on the sidelines does little to help you or to help that person desperately seeking the perfect home.
Keep in mind the volume of properties sold every month, even in the coldest part of winter, before delaying the inevitable. The risk you take should be apparent in the ever-changing environment of economy and mortgage interest rates. The best time to sell is when you decide it is time and a buyer decides yours is the home they need.
Trust an expert...call a Realtor. Call your Realtor or visit www.cdarealtors.com to search properties on the Multiple Listing Service or to find a Realtor member who will represent your best interests.
Kim Cooper is a real estate broker and the spokesman for the Coeur d'Alene Association of Realtors. Kim and the association invite your feedback and input for this column. You may contact them by writing to the Coeur d'Alene Association of Realtors, 409 W. Neider, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83815 or by calling (208) 667-0664.