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Hi. I'm new here. I'm wondering what you guys think about selling in summer vs. fall vs. late winter/early spring. We are selling to move back to our home state closer to family and because I have SAD and the cloud cover is too brutal for me (we are near Seattle). Hubby likes his job and wants to wrap a few things up over the next few months so isn't ready to sell and move immediately and we aren't in a position where we must sell.
Ideally, we'd like to list in September and move end of November. We could live with family if need be until it sells, however, we don't want to end up in that situation for too long and I wonder if it begins to look bad if our house sits on the market for a long period of time (through winter possibly if we don't sell in fall).
We could try to move things up and list in summer, list in the fall, or wait until February or so for the spring season to kick in. WWYD?
Last edited by jeninwashington; 05-07-2008 at 09:42 PM..
Hi Jen - sorry to hear that Seattle isn't working out for you. It certainly isn't for everyone. If you were to put your home on the market now and the Real Estate Fairy blessed your home with a quick sale, could you rent somewhere until your husband was ready to move? That might be an option. :-)
I thought Seattle was pretty stable still? You may wish to just talk to a couple realtors and get a gauge. We listed our last home in Aug/Sept and it sold quickly- different market though. I loved how our home looked that time of year and there was not as much inventory versus spring market. I would list in Aug versus Sept b/c after Halloween things typically slow down.
So you think you can automatically sell in two months if you list in September??
My advice would be to get the house on the market ASAP and don't fool around....its brutal out there right now and prob getting worse
LOL No, as I said above, we'd probably move in November but live with family in another state (where we're relocating) until it sold and we had enough of a down payment to buy another house or rent for awhile. Just wondering what the market is typically like in the different seasons and if putting it up in the fall is just asking for it to sit on the market a really long time. If so, then maybe waiting until Feb/March of next year would be better. I don't want to hole up with family longer than necessary, nor do I want the house sitting empty for months on end if possible. However, I would like to put it up for sale in a few months if it seems like a good idea. The market here is not as bad as most other areas of the country but it is slower than it used to be and prices have fallen a little.
I can't help but believe that now is the time. By Summer, the housing slump will be very common knowledge and ever worsening news will scare off even more potential buyers. FWIW
Thanks all for your honest feedback. You've certainly got me thinking. Does anyone think there will be much of an improvement in home sale prices and rate of sale if we waited until next spring, or is your feeling that it will just get worse? We definitely want to move within the next year and if trends don't look to be getting better, but worse during that time, you are probably right and we should list sooner rather than later.
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However, I would like to put it up for sale in a few months if it seems like a good idea. The market here is not as bad as most other areas of the country but it is slower than it used to be and prices have fallen a little.
