Wednesday, February 13, 2013

When Should I Sell My Elizabethtown KY real estate? Spring, Summer, or Winter?


When is the best time to sell your Elizabethtown KY real estate? Typically, when you need to. There will always be a market of buyers.

The seasons can have an effect, though. Winter, for instance, is generally not the busiest time for Elizabethtown Kentucky real estate buyers, but on average the inventory of homes for sale during the winter tends to be a little lower. That may actually work in your favor. Yours may be the one piece of Elizabethtown real estate that’s quickly snatched up for reasons that have nothing to do with the time of year.

If you can wait, late spring is probably a more ideal time to list your home. Some Elizabethtown KY real estate sellers think listing early, say in March, will give them a head start. They might be gearing their listing toward spring break shoppers. Sometimes though, the weather can change dramatically and quickly in March. A storm can stop buyers from venturing out to look at homes.

Sell Dates Versus Closing Dates
Also to be considered, Elizabethtown Kentucky real estate buyers generally want a 30 to 60 day closing, so listing in March may attract buyers that want to close in April/May. If you don’t want to move until your children have finished school, March may be actually be a good time to sell. Of course, you can try to negotiate the date of your choice. If children’s schedules aren’t a factor, if you’re moving within the same school zone, or if you have an urgent reason for needing to sell, selling early in the spring won’t hurt you.

April or May are often a better choice, because snowfall has ceased, buyers will be more motivated to venture out to view Elizabethtown KY real estate. Those who want to move during the summer will often begin their search in these months.

Just a tip: If you’re planning to close at the end of your child’s school year, give yourself transition time. If your children have exams, are involved in special events, graduations, and so forth, it will be a busy time for the family and probably not the best time to be packing up the student’s belongings. Perhaps closing a week or two after the school year ends is worth negotiating.

Yes, a sale is important, but as a seller, it’s still all in your hands. Do what works best for you. That’s what negotiation is about; finding the best or most workable scenario for both the seller and the buyer.

The Importance of Trends
Contrary to thinking, being first on the market to list your house isn’t necessarily ideal. It can be advantageous to use other sellers’ scenarios as case studies. Once the Elizabethtown real estate market becomes speckled with more homes for sale, your agent will hear important feedback and be able to gauge what’s happening with buyers. She’ll be more knowledge about the current buyer trends and better able to advise you on how to price your home for a quick sale. If your price is right, for current demand, your home will sell. If you're asking too much then you will wait. Be sure to factor that into your timeline.

If your neighbor decides to start off early at listing his house, perhaps at a high price, his house may be by-passed. New shoppers may not be in a hurry to snatch up the first thing they see. Until they’ve been able to compare with others, they may feel the home is over-priced. Listing when the Elizabethtown KY real estate market starts moving may be a better option.

Of course, there’s always a veteran shopper who’s been waiting for just the right home to come on the market. Yours might be it. There are no hard and fast rules about how houses sell.

Certainly a discussion about demand wouldn't be complete without talking about Fort Knox. We can't forget how important of a role Fort Knox plays with regard to the Elizabethtown KY real estate market. If Fort Knox is not moving soldiers in, then the market will be pretty flat as far as demand is concerned.

If you need to sell or are just toying with the idea, talk to us about the Elizabethtown KY real estate market. The more information you have, the better equipped you’ll be to sell your home quickly.

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