Are there benefits to selling your home in the winter or should you wait until spring?
It’s long been thought that the best time to sell a home is in the spring. And it’s true that Zillow research shows that in 29 the 35 major metro areas studied, the two-week window when it was ideal to list fell between the second half of March and the first half of June.
That said, the North Fork is its own beast, and real agents we polled say there are advantages to listing now instead of waiting until the leaves return and tulips sprout.
“In the past waiting ’till spring was often preferred since homes look better at that time, but we are in a new market where the sooner you list the better,” says Kristy Naddell, an associate real estate broker with Douglas Elliman. “The North Fork is experiencing very low inventory and high demand, so now is the time to get your home on the market. Buyers looking now are serious and ready to pull the trigger. In many cases these buyers lost out in a bidding war and are now seasoned and ready to make strong offers.”
Bridget Elkin, a real estate salesperson with Daniel Gale, concurs. “It’s an incredibly lucrative time to list your home,” she says. “If your plan is to sell this year and vacating the home in the next few months is not an issue, you should not wait for the spring to bring your property to market. While we traditionally see a downtick in buyer activity during the winter months, the current market has changed that dynamic. The listings we have brought to market in 2021 are seeing summer levels of activity and multiple bids. Your grass will be greener in the spring but buyers will also have more to look at which means more competition for sellers.”
Another reason to list now? Buyers will have plenty of time to secure their beach passes and settle in before the weather warms.
“The seasoned buyer that wants in before Memorial Day,” says Valerie Goode, owner of Colony Realty, “is out in full force searching now.”
