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RSS FeedOne question on the mind of many Sellers is, what is the BEST timing for the sale of my home?
In and ideal world the answer to this question and picking the best time to sell would be very simple. Forget about everything else, just look at the "normal" seasonal market fluctuations and pick the months that have the lowest supply and highest demand. In every Real Estate market, there are usually very regular seasonal influences so it seems this would not be very difficult. These factors include weather patterns, academic commitments, tourist traffic, and other locally recurring influences that affect supply and demand annually on a regular cyclical pattern. These patterns are easy to predict and can often be worked into a Seller's planning because they have a similar influence on the market from year to year.
The problem however, is that there are a numerous other factors that have the potential to affect sales potential at any give time. These issues are usually much more difficult to predict and have the potential to disrupt timing as much or more than any other influences.
Some examples that can have a very adverse effect on timing for a sale are changing governmental regulations with regard to home mortgage lending, economic news, natural disasters, and local employment. These are more complex issues which have a greater potential to impact sales activity because they are often more dramatic and UN-predictable. In the meantime, I have found that for most people, no matter how much planning or predictive analysis we do, what is really more important in terms of the timing for a sale is NOT what is happening it the market! It is what is HAPPENING with their PERSONAL LIFE!
Therefore, the real challenge is not so much picking the best TIME as it is determining the BEST STRATEGY. How you deal with the issues in the market place when the time comes that YOU are ready to sell is most important. This is especially true for events that may occur while you are already on the market trying to sell. Seeking the knowledge and assistance of a professional local real estate agent who is active in your market, is the best way to quickly understand the market and plan accordingly. The best agents are involved in the community and have an "ear to the ground" for economic, social, or other factors likely to impact your sale. Their informed market insights should help you tremendously to plan your sale and deal with any issues that may have the potential to impact your sale.
In real life, we get new jobs, get married, have children, our kids leave for school, or other life changes happen. These are the REALLY IMPORTANT issues and usually trump anything to do with markets. When we realize that most of time, factors within our personal lives choose the timing for us, it makes more sense to analyse the market and plan our strategy than it does to try timing our activities and predicting events that may never occur.