Three reasons why you shouldn’t wait for the spring market
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For some buyers and sellers around the country, the fall and winter are like a giant, months-long waiting room for the spring market. They hunker down, biding their time for when the market starts heading up in March. People, this is a giant, months-long mistake! For both buyers and sellers, this is a waste of precious time and opportunity.
I see it happen every year. Every holiday season I end up negotiating relocation deals for families who have to move to Chicago for work. And every year the deal is one of the easiest and fastest. This isn’t a coincidence. Today I’m sharing three reasons why you shouldn’t wait for the spring market for both buyers and sellers. Listen up!
Buyers:
You know what you’re getting: There’s no telling where rates will be this spring and right now they are low, low low!
Less competition: Not all of Chicagoland’s buyers will heed my advice and shop around during the fall and winter, so there will inevitably be less competition. Less competition for you manifests in a number of positive ways, most importantly is that there is less likelihood of a multiple offer situation--which drives down price and stress.
More room to negotiate: With less buyers to choose from, sellers may be more willing to negotiate to make a deal work. For example, during the spring market, a home sale contingency might weaken an offer. In the winter, with potentially fewer offers on the table, sellers may try harder to make it work.
Sellers:
Election year drama: One of the biggest effects of an election on the real estate market is that it tends to make the spring market shorter and weaker. Political uncertainty is almost always a negative when it comes to the real estate market, so there is no sense in waiting!
Motivated/serious buyers: Anyone spending their holidays looking for a home is a motivated buyer, so you waste less time with look-a-loos, and cut straight to the chase! Remember: it only takes ONE buyer.
Less inventory: Again, not every Chicagoan is going to listen to me about not waiting, so there will be fewer listings on the market--which means less competition! Always a good thing.
I really do believe that there is tons of missed opportunity every fall and winter. If the timing makes sense for you and your situation, I highly encourage you to take advantage of the quieter months.
