Tag: Lakeside Real Estate

Winter, statistics say.

Everybody knows that winter is the dead zone for real estate, right? At least that’s the commonly held belief. However, national statistical studies propose that’s not the case.

According to Redfin, real estate database and brokerage company, which closely examines home listings, time-on-market and sale price data from 2010 to the current market, winter can be a surprisingly profitable time to list, shop, negotiate and buy.

The studies established that if owners want to sell for more than the asking price, listing in December, January, February and March gives you a better chance, on average, than if you list any time from June through November – the so-called ‘peak selling season.’

Not convinced? Just take a peek at the data gathered by Redfin during the first few years of the study (view the full article by Redfin here)

Graphic Provided by Christin Camacho at Redfin

The years of data collected by Redfin directly opposes the widespread sentiment that selling a house during the winter months is more challenging. In fact, the opposite trend can be seen with a near 10% greater likelihood of a quick sell, 1.2% greater Sale-to-List Ratio, and less days averaged on the market.

Now, some New Yorkers might reject this data, citing the harsh seasonal climate as a deterrent for buyers. However, the benefit of selling a home in winter holds just as true for those with unforgiving winters (cough cough, the Finger Lakes of NY State). In each of the 19 markets analyzed in Redfin’s report, including Boston, Chicago and New York, home sellers were better off listing their homes in the winter than during any other season.

Look, you have to consider the market. Since personal sentiments shape individuals perceptions, some sellers pull their unsold houses off the market during the winter, hoping for better results in the spring. By doing so, they leave a smaller inventory of active listings — diminishing the competition amongst sellers who list in January and February.

When it comes down to brass tax, real estate does not hibernate from December to April. An upwards of 5 million homes are resold annually in the U.S., and many of them are listed and sold during the winter months with ease due to the perception of a poor winter market… in turn, this perception and trendiness of listing during the green season has decreased the amount of listings and competition to the point where the winter market has proven statistical superiority in all three major areas of real estate: Selling within six months, Sale-to-List Price Ratio, and average days spent on the market.

Hmm… looks like winter is warmer for real estate than you might think.

Logically, as the next step, we would recommend listing with us at Finger Lakes Premier Properties (FLPP); our specialty of lakeside real estate is unmatched in the Finger Lakes. In fact, one of FLPP’s central focus areas this past year was to reduce the amount of days listings spent on market. FLPP achieved this goal, slashing the Average Days Spent on Market by 30% from 2016-2017.

If you are interested in more information on listing or buying a lakefront home, please contact us at 844-832-1294, or email us at sales@FLPPlake.com.