Well our neighbors home is up for sale again! They must really want to move. Who puts their house up for sale in January the coldest month of the year here in Toronto?
Once they took their for sale sign down and said they were getting some repairs done on the house (changing from oil to gas heating, new furnace and who knows what else) I didn’t really expect to see a for sale sign go up before March or April.
I think in Northern climates most people who are thinking of selling their homes try to put it up for sale in the early Spring. I’ve never sold a home, but that’s certainly the time of year that I went looking to buy a house.
In my personal experience that’s a good time to look for a new home. The snow is melting or melted so you can see the whole house – foundation and all. I mean, you want to be able to see if there are any problems right? Sure you can get an inspection done, but everything’s easier when you can actually visualize the whole house and structure. The yards also look better too which makes the houses more appealing.
Also, when I went searching for a home to buy I saw probably close to 50 homes. The majority had leaky basements. How do I know? Well it rains quite a bit in the spring and a lot of the houses literally had puddles of water in the basement. Some had several inches of water. In fact, I think this house was the only one with a dry basement. I knew right away that the foundation was probably in great shape! That’s something that you wouldn’t be able to tell very easily when buying a house in the dead of winter!
As far as I’m concerned they might as well have a sign on their lawn saying Tennessee land for sale for all the good putting their house up for sale now will do them. I wish them luck, I really do … but their house still needs a lot of work. They haven’t modernized it at all. Perhaps they are thinking a desperate home buyer will come along.
Well due to being in the middle of the school year Jan is not a good time to sell, but if you get those young babyless couples, you may get a buyer.
My parents are in the middle of selling their house during a cold Chicago winter and have had quite a few inquiries. The market is so crazy in our area that I don’t think there’s a good or bad time anymore.
While it is true that the Spring is the best time of year to sell a home, don’t discount the fact that many homes get sold at other times of the year. The weather here in Hopkinton Massachusetts is similar to where you are. There are still plenty of homes that get sold in the January to March time frame. Real Estate in the Spring in most markets will consist of a lot more competition because everyone shares this view point. Without question properties look and show better in the Spring. Buyers who are out looking right now are very serious though. There are not too many people that want to brave the elements that are not serious.
I decided to just live in mine until the economy improves and who knows when that will be.
I totally agree with you, January in Toronto wouldn’t be my ideal time to go looking for a house either. But sometimes finances dictate needs more than timing I guess…