The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Real Estate and Landlording => Topic started by: Zero Degrees on June 08, 2017, 03:09:45 PM
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Hi All,
I am mostly a lurker here, but had another question about selling my home.
Is selling a home in the Midwest in the fall a bad idea? I live in an HOA maintained two story detached town home (have my own four walls). I know I would be missing out on the buyers with school aged children, but there has to be other young families or young couples wanting to buy too? My neighborhood has everything from retired to single people (and everything in between) living in these homes.
Home details: 2700 finished sq ft. 4/3, additional unfinished 1,000 sq. feet in basement. Low HOA fee with many amenities. Low 300's K price point.
I've researched this and it's a mixed bag. Some say you have to lower your price others say no adjusting your price - there will just be less buyers, but only serious buyers.
The market in my area is on fire with many homes selling in days. There are still some that sit for weeks and I don't know why when they look fine online.
What say you?
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So of all the factors that would go into selling a house I would consider the time of year to be one of the less influential. Sure you may be able to get your pool larger by putting it up for sale at a different time but if you're selling it at a price that fits the value and is fair then someone may pick it up.
I'd focus on factors that are more within your control to make it a desirable home to buy.
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Agreed with matchewed. I think it's more important to use strong marketing (if FSBO) or the right agent (if you're going the agent route).
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I've sold (or started selling) in the fall twice. The bad news is that there are far fewer people who will look. The good news is that most of the people are serious buyers rather than star struck lookie loos who just want to see what the inside of your house looks like. Both my houses sold to families with kids. When your company transfers you, as the only breadwinner in the house, you're going to drag your family to the new town. That does happen in the middle of the school year.
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We are looking now, and will be looking going into the fall (or at least a fall closing is likely by the time we offer in July-August).
We have school age kids and are desperate.
We are moving due to a relocation and so we have no control over timing.
2 houses ago, we listed in the spring but it sold in September to a family with school age kids.
We just went and house hunted in a hot market (see my post on Ask A Mustachian) and of the 10 houses we saw, at least half, maybe more, were still on the market because:
-On busy street
-Lied about bedrooms (listing says 3 bedrooms, really 2 as you have to walk through one bedroom to get to another)
-Terrible condition for the price- loads of deferred maintenance
-Wet basement
-Only kitchen in the basement
-Non-serious seller throwing out sky high price and refusing to budge
-Smokers (this house had a sign saying the smell was the cat litter box. lol. no.)
I'm sure there were more, but all the ones sitting had a reason.
Anecdotes for you :)
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Thank you all for your responses. I am starting to interview realtors. They all tell me there will be less foot traffic, but there will still be buyers. So I am going to pull the trigger.
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Ive always heard, smaller pool + smaller crowd = not a big difference. May depend on market somewhat though (ie college town or something).
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It is not a college town, just a regular suburb of a major city. I've been watching the listings like a hawk. I keep thinking I can get what I want (well, what I need) but you can just never get inside the heads of potential buyers to really know.
It amazes me how some houses that are completely outdated can go for so much and then some really nice ones sit. I'll never understand real estate.