Best Seasons for Buying and Selling Property

It’s rumored that the spring and summer are the best seasons for selling your home, and that may be partially true. With every season, there comes pros and cons, and as a buyer or seller it simply depends on what you’re looking for and what the Central Oregon real estate market is like.

Spring and Summer Pros

Some think that spring is the best time to sell a home. It’s when buyers typically start coming out of the wood works to find the perfect property. It’s also the time of year that lots of listings come onto the market, so there’s more for buyers to look at.

One of the benefits of selling your home in the summer is that other homes near you are likely selling. Especially in Bend, summer is when vacation homes start hitting the market. If you have homes in your area that recently sold for a higher price, chances are that yours will sell for a higher price too. If you’re trying to sell your home in the summer, and the last comparable home sold near you was in the winter, it’s going to look like your home is listed for too high a price. So selling your home in the “on season” gets you a better price for your property. If you can afford to, try to wait to list your home until other homes near you have sold.

Another perk of selling in the summer is that the days are longer. People love to see homes in the daylight, and it can make or break the happy feel of a potential new home. The benefit of summer is that the sun shines all day, and there’s plenty of daylight for showings.

With more buyers, there could be more of a chance for a bidding war. While bidding wars are a hassle for buyers, they can be very beneficial for sellers.

Spring and Summer Cons

Some of the cons of selling a home in the spring or summer is that buyers can be pickier. With a lot of potential listings on the market, buyers can pick and choose what they look at. With plenty of time in the summer to buy, potential buyers might not be tempted to purchase a home that needs work, they might just wait for a similar property that won’t require work.

Fall and Winter Cons

Some people may intentionally wait for winter to look for potential homes, as they believe they’ll find cheaper listings or better deals. Some investors wait to buy property in the winter, when pricing tends to be lower. Typically, people put their house on the market in the winter, because they have to, not because they’re shopping around to see what they can get. When people list their house in the winter, it’s typically because they need to move and are willing to accept most offers, whether or not they’re below asking price.

Fall and Winter Pros

With the need to sell your home quickly in the off season, also comes the need to buy a home quickly. With fewer listings on the market, determined home buyers will be quicker to make an offer on a property they like. Some off-season buyers are more focused on finding a home quickly.