Many people believe that Spring is the best time to put their home on the market in the White Mountains, just like they would in their hometowns south of us. The reality is that the vacation real estate market is quite different. There are many different reasons why people come to the mountains and there are just as many options for owning vacation-investment property. I sell homes every month of the year, with an average of 2 transactions per month. Dec., Jan., Feb., and March are just as busy as Spring and Summer, except the buyers tend to be more serious and the competing inventory is typically more scarce.
Why Sell My Home In The Winter?
People considering selling their home in the winter often have some misconceptions about the idea, but there are three major reasons why you might want to consider selling your home during the winter months here in the White Mountains.
Less inventory
It’s important to consider that you don’t typically see new listings during the winter months and therefore the inventory is much less than, let’s say, during the summer or spring months. When there are fewer homes for sale, it means less competition even though there are still plenty of qualified buyers. This by itself could make winter an ideal time to sell your home.
Curb Appeal
During the summer months, expectations are high here in the White Mountains! If you are selling during the warmer months there is a great deal of landscaping effort that you’ll need to put into a home that you are selling. I mean, you do want your home to look it’s best no matter what time of year you are selling. But curb appeal is something you don’t have to worry about as much during the winter. So make sure you take advantage of the months where you have to put in the least amount of landscaping effort.
Buyers Are More Serious
Plain and simply put, you will have fewer tire kickers. You probably won’t find as many people in the winter out looking at homes because they are dreaming about buying a home or just for fun. Obviously, you’ll have many people come to your home that aren’t ready to buy right away. If someone is out viewing homes in the snow and the cold it means that the buyer is interested in buying a home sooner rather than later. So this is just another great reason to sell your home in the winter months.
Free Market Analysis
A free market analysis is always the place to start if you are even weighing up decisions about when to list your home for sale. Waiting until Spring like every other sheep in the herd is not going to help your home stand out and the right buyer could come and go between now and then.
A free market analysis is an obvious tool for a property seller or a homeowner that just wants to get a feel for their current market value. A market report can also aid a Buyer in making value decisions for the White Mountain real estate purchase. Not many agents promote a buyer market report or a comparative market analysis for the property or properties that they want to buy.
Written By Bill Barbin, Real Estate Broker, with Keller Williams Lakes and Mountains Realty in North Conway NH 03860.
Bill can be reached at 603-986-0385 or bill@ilovenorthconway.com
Bill covers a market area approx 25 mi around the North Conway NH office in The Mount Washington Valley. Bill is licensed as a broker in both NH and Maine, and holds an inactive license in Massachusetts.