Selling a Home During the Winter - Myth Busted!

Almost like clockwork every year, I start hearing about Old Man Winter from home buyers and potential home sellers:

• I'm waiting till Spring and will sell when the market is hot
• No one is buying a home this time of year
• No one buys homes during the holidays
• I'll wait to shop when all the good homes hit the market in the Spring
• I'm waiting to sell when I can get the highest price in the Spring
• Etc., etc., etc., etc., Honestly - this list does go on forever, but you get the gist of it...

Is any of this true?  Are these people just believing the hype or do they have a legitimate point?

Well - maybe they are right if they came from a Northern state or a state that experiences heavy climate change during the winter causing more people to stay indoors.  They were probably more accurate when they lived in that Northern state.

BUT - this is Florida!  ..... and this is a picture I took in Jacksonville FL in December:

I'm not sure if any of these people have actually looked around during the Fall, Winter, and Early Spring timeframe here in Jacksonville Florida, but the weather is typically pretty nice.  As a matter of fact, some would even argue that it's a lot better than in the dog days of a Florida Summer.  +1 here, just add me to that list!

The actual facts speak for themselves:

2,262 = THE Actual # Closed real estate sales in the HIGHEST month here in North Florida which this last year was June.  

Drum roll please.....

1,999 = THE Actual # Closed real estate sales in DECEMBER this past year.  

WHAT??? How could that be?   It's easy to explain:  We live in Florida and people get out when the weather isn't below 30 and isn't above 95.  Therefore, we see a year round robust real estate market.  Is it a little slower in some of the Winter months than in the late Spring / early Summer months - sure, but not the way most believe.

If you are a potential home buyer or potential home seller, stop worrying about the time of year and start moving forward with your plans.  Chances are, it'll take you longer to find the right house and longer to prepare your house for sale than you had initially estimated.  Either way, get busy with your plans - one way or another, and we are here to help as your Realtor in Jacksonville when your time is right!