Selling Your Home Early In The New Year

One of the very first things I learned when I became a real estate agent twenty plus years ago was that you never sold your house in January, February, or March. “Wait for the spring market,” is something that I told numerous sellers early in my career because that was what the real estate industry taught us. You have to wait for the azaleas to be in bloom, for the grass to green up, and for the new crop of buyers to start entering the market. For the most part, that is what we did; we circled dates in early April, figuring that was going to give our sellers the best opportunity to get the most for their properties. As agents, we embraced the notion that the first three months of the year were going to be on the slower side and that, once we turned the calendar to April (yes—we still used an old-school paper calendar), we would all be going a thousand miles an hour until the traditional summer slow down.

I am here to tell you that, for the most part, we were all living a lie. As it turns out, the first three months of the year can often be the best time to list your property. Despite what many of us believed a decade or two ago, I now truly believe that January, February, and March are quite possibly the best three months to sell your home, and I am going to tell you why.

Increased Lack of Inventory

One of the largest factors driving our real estate market is an overall lack of inventory. Simply put, there are not enough homes for all of the potential buyers in our area. Even with the slower-paced market that we have been in for the last eight months, our overall supply in most areas is still between two and four months, which is incredibly low. To put that into perspective, at the peak of the great recession of 2008, 2009 and 2010, our inventory levels were consistently between a twenty-five and thirty month supply. To make matters worse, many builders have canceled or delayed new construction projects as the market has shifted away from the frenetic pace of 2020, 2021, and the first half of 2022, which is putting an even greater strain on our already depleted inventory. The supply levels for our region are typically at their lowest in January, February, and March, potentially making that a fantastic time to list your property.

New Buyers Entering The Market

One thing that we have consistently seen over the last ten years or so is that the new year brings out new buyers. Even with the recent rise in interest rates, this has held true in 2023 as well. Speak to any reputable mortgage lender, and they will tell you that the number of new mortgage applications rises sharply in the new year. Many agents have taken on several new buyer clients and/or had purchasers reach back out to them, saying now they are ready to buy. While you will see new buyers entering the market throughout the year, one could make a very strong case that the largest collection of them are starting their home buying journey just after the holidays. What this has meant for many agents early on in 2023 is fully booked showing schedules on their listings, multiple offers, and, in some cases, escalation clauses that are going well above the original list price.

If you are a seller, the laws of supply and demand may not be any more in your favor throughout the year than they are in January, February, and March. Obviously, there are exceptions to everything, but historically, many of the highest prices we have seen for properties are for those that sold in the first three months of the year. While waiting for the spring market was what we used to think was the best strategy for sellers, now may, in fact, be the best time to list your property. So, if you are considering selling your home, it is important that you speak to your trusted McEnearney Associate about whether now is the right time for you.