real estate advice

One question that is often presented to our team is, "When does the spring market begin?" To answer that question, we should first explain why people are curious about the spring market vs. the summer or fall. Typically, the spring market produces the highest sales prices of the year and the greatest level of buyer activity compared to summer and fall. As warm weather approaches, the local inventory of homes is coming off its annual lows from December and January. Many sellers prefer to not have their homes on the market over the holidays and while winter weather can be less cooperative. At the same time, the coming warmer months bring the buyer community out in full force. Buyers are eager to secure their new home before they have to compete with the mass of other hungry buyers. Making an offer on a home in early spring allows for many families to close towards the end of the school year and spend the summer getting settled before the following school year begins. This makes the perfect scenario for sellers: low inventory, which means less competition and high demand for homes. Selling a home is no different than selling something else; when demand is high and supply is low, prices rise.

Most homeowners have visited the Zillow website at some point to check their Zestimate value. Some are pleasantly surprised, while others are offended at the low price assigned to their beloved home. Zillow, and many other realtor websites, have been providing real estate valuations for years. So what goes into these property estimates and how much value should we be placing on the provided information?

If you are planning to sell your home in the spring of 2020, you are likely starting to feel increased stress over the long to-do list to get your home ready. As I have advised my clients, those who hit the market in the earliest part of the spring tend to sell their homes quicker and for more money. With that said, sellers have roughly 90 days from Thanksgiving to make their home as attractive as possible to the buyer community. What are the main actions you can take to accomplish this goal?

“Timing is everything.” Like most of us, you’ve likely had the reason to utter this all too common phrase. Perhaps you delivered the joke’s punchline to a colleague at just the right moment. Maybe you brought up a touchy subject to your spouse at the end of a long day’s work. What about the time you showed up to the store and found the item you were looking for had just gotten marked down by 50%?

Spring has sprung! With the recent increase in seasonal temperatures, our trees and gardens have come back to life, and so too has the local real estate market. Each year, the spring real estate market is strongest in the February-to-June timeframe. The inventory of homes is coming off of winter lows and buyers hit the marketplace in earnest in hopes of securing the perfect home before the competition lays eyes on it. This combination of cyclical events makes it the perfect time for sellers to put their homes on the market to fetch top dollar.

CONTRIBUTED BYJIM BECKLEY, REALTOR WITH THE ERIC STEWART GROUP OF LONG & FOSTER REAL ESTATE As we enter the spring market of 2019, the local home inventory is at historic lows. Selling a home is no different than selling anything else; when supply is low and demand is high, prices and competition rise. So how does a buyer position him/herself to win the home of his/her dreams when that exact home is also a favorite of another buyer who is also submitting an offer?