This must be, one of the most frequent questions we get from our prospective sellers when we are being interviewed for a listing, and these answers may surprise you.
Winter
Once we start heading into the chilly winter months, sales typically diminish leading up to the Christmas holidays, and this continues into early January as well. This does not mean that buying stops all together, in fact, all Buyers in the winter market are usually very serious. These people may have been hunting for quite a while and are still seeking that perfect property that checks off exactly what they are looking for. They also make up a large portion of the active buyers once the busy spring and summer markets arrive.
The winter Buyer is primarily made up of residential type purchasers. Alternatively, we find that most of the waterfront Buyers will wait until the spring thaw so that they can see what the shoreline looks like once the ice melts from the lakes and rivers adjacent to the property.
As the market and the inventory starts to heat up throughout February and March it quickly takes a brief rest during the March break to allow time for families to be with each other or travel together.
Spring
April ushers in the hot Spring market. Listing prices are generally higher between April and June as the excitement of new residential and waterfront listings become available, and even more new buyers come together, all at the same time. We also start to see multiple offer scenarios and higher sale amounts throughout these key selling spring months.
Summer
Once the summer arrives, the market begins to stabilize between July and September, and sales activity returns to more seasonal levels. Pricing starts to stabilize into what will become “this year’s” normal price ranges. New listings continue to become available, and sales continue to be brisk, but at a much steadier and predictable rate. The new spring buyers who were learning the market have by now done their homework and have compared and visited various properties. In other words, they are now in position to make offers during these key summer selling months.
Residential buyers are keen to make the move into their new homes before the fall return to school arrives, and Waterfront Buyers are always anxious to get into their new cottages as soon as possible. This is so that they can enjoy the remainder of the summer and the upcoming fall season by the lake. Waterfront Buyers are often seeking short closings for this very reason, while residential buyers can be a bit more patient and accommodating for those Sellers who require a bit of extra time to move on to their next homes.
Fall
The fall market is primarily made up of those buyers who were not successful during the previous six months in finding and/or purchasing their ideal homes or cottages or maybe they just got started a little bit later in the year for whatever reason. They are by now seasoned buyers and know exactly what they are looking for. We may even find these buyers re-appearing in the upcoming winter and next year’s spring markets.
While we do continue to see many new listings appearing throughout the fall market, we also see properties that did not sell during the busy spring and summer seasons. These sellers can sometimes be a bit more motivated to negotiate the price than they were willing to do so in the hotter spring/summer seasons, and we often see a minor pull back on listing prices in general toward the end of Fall market, especially on waterfront listings.
We find Fall to be a very steady market. Supply and demand and all the other various market forces come together and make for ideal conditions to buy and sell real estate. Cottages also do well throughout the Fall as the weeds begin to recede and the shorelines can be even more thoroughly examined.
For upcoming spring listings, especially waterfront listings it is very important for Sellers to choose and sign up their real estate agents throughout the winter season. This gives everyone enough time to get their marketing materials planned and executed as well as get the property organized and the home ready for those eager new Spring buyers wanting to make an offer as soon as the listing appears.