Demand for housing depends on and is driven mainly by the current state of the economy, labor market, personal income levels, availability of money for lending, tax and regulatory burden on homeownership and consumer confidence in future outlook.

Economics 101 teaches us that in free market environment, there is a balance between supply and demand and if the balance is skewed towards one or the other, the market corrects itself by the supply of product, price or both.

The presumption that demand for housing is higher in the “Spring Season when everybody is looking” and the “weather is good” as compared to the Winter is absolutely WRONG. There is no empirical evidence that the housing demand is driven by seasonality or weather conditions as many home sellers might believe and pseudo real estate experts suggest. When you hear this complete nonsense from an agent bidding for your business, move on and look for a professional who might give you better advice.



Winter Listing
Spring Listing
Home Supply
Lower
Higher
Competition
Lower
Higher
% of Buyers to Listings
Higher
Lower
Sale Price
Higher
Lower


To the contrary, waiting for the “Spring Season” or removing a listing during the winter is senseless as it only creates an artificial market imbalance with lower supply. Winter is a perfect opportunity for an astute seller who understands that bad weather reduces the competition and increases the prospect of a sale and at a higher price when the supply is artificially low.

To list a home in the winter requires planning and preparation, for example completing some of the marketing material such as photography and video ahead of time and then updating it when the weather improves. During the winter, there may be fewer showings as compared to the Spring but most will be qualified prospects. Anyone inquiring and willing to view a property in miserable weather is more likely to be a real buyer. It is just common sense.

In the Spring however, there may be more traffic but most likely from sellers themselves looking to compare and price their own homes as well as from ‘lookers’ who like to go to open houses for various reasons other than to buy a house giving sellers the false illusion that there is a lot of genuine interest.

My advice is to hire a professional real estate broker who possesses business skills and not the so called expert who in reality is a sheep following the like-minded herd. Think outside the box and adhere to the basic economic principles to get your home sold.

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