Why Timing Is Crucial When Buying Or Selling A Home

When buying or selling a home, there are several things you need to do. For example, when purchasing a house, you have to consider various things, such as the location, price, and size.

On the other hand, advertising the property and staging is a must if you intend to sell your home. However, regardless of your position, timing must always be one of the considerations.

Timing refers to the act of moving in and out of a market to achieve a particular objective. For some people, this objective might be to maximize profits. Others, however, use timing to make sure the process goes smoothly and with no obstructions. Speaking of which, if you want to get a quick buck, consider checking The Local House Buyers website especially if you’re selling a house in Florida. Regardless, timing remains one of the most critical aspects of the transaction, and here's why.

1. Timing Can Affect How Well And Easy You Can Stage Your Home

According to a National Association of Realtors (NAR) study, staging homes can make the selling process faster and easier. Furthermore, with the right staging tactics, you can sell even the most mediocre-looking house in the neighborhood at a relatively high price. As such, staging procedures, such as redecorating, decluttering, and cleaning, are essential when selling a house.

But what does timing have to do with staging?

First off, it's worth noting that there's a specific time of the year where staging a house is the easiest and most manageable. For example, the grass is greenest during summer when the sun is most intense. During this season, your home, or at least the landscaping, would be the most attractive. Similarly, leaves fall during October, making landscaping more difficult than usual.

For that reason, people who sell during summer often find it easier to attract homebuyers, and people who sell during fall would find it harder to make the property 'show-ready.'

On the other hand, if you're a buyer, it's the opposite. By searching for a house during summer, the luscious lawn may create the illusion of a nice-looking house, when in reality, its appearance is, at most, average. This misconception can significantly affect your judgment. Hence, it's best if you go house searching during early fall since that's when you can see a house for what it truly is.

2. The Right Timing Can Maximize Your Profits

The real estate market doesn't stay at a constant momentum. There's a time of year when houses are abundant, and there are times when they're scarce. That's why the prices of real estate properties can rise or fall at any time. While you can't change the market flow, every investor knows that the flow isn't random. It follows a pattern that decides whether house prices fall, rise, or stay in their current state. If you're a seller, this can be vital information.

For one, you can use your predictions to determine the best time to sell so you can maximize your profits. Or you can also avoid specific periods of the year where house prices are plummeting.

On that note, here's a look at what you need to know about the real estate market in terms of timing:

• Spring (March to June)
  It has been established for a long time that spring is when the number of homebuyers is the highest. For one, there are fewer holidays during this season, meaning people aren't too busy. Moreover, just like how summer affects the greeneries, spring is when flowers bloom, so homes with a garden are easier to sell as it's more appealing to buyers.
  In short, selling in spring makes it more likely for you to sell the house quickly. However, it's not the best season in terms of profitability since there also tends to be more houses put up for sale during this time, so competition is a bit tight, and prices will be lower.
• Summer (June to September)
  Late summer is perhaps the best time to sell a house if you're aiming to maximize your profits since it's the start of a new school year. This would mean families will aim to settle down. It's also the time when workers get home from their vacation, yet another factor that increases the demand for houses. Regardless, house prices are bound to be higher.
• Autumn (September to December)
  Autumn isn't as good as spring or summer in both profitability and speed in selling. However, during this time, autumn is yet another great time to sell a house if you're aiming to maximize your profits. It consists of zero holidays that can potentially slow down the market, so it's when the market is most predictable and least volatile.
• Winter (December to March)
  Unfortunately, if you're planning on selling during these months, you might want to change your schedule. Winter is perhaps the time where selling a house would be most difficult, primarily due to the weather. Moreover, there are many festivities during this time, such as Christmas, so finding a prospective homebuyer would be pretty challenging.

While real estate market trends tend to be consistent, there are times where the market becomes highly volatile. When that happens, these predictions can be useless, but that rarely happens.

3. The Right Timing Can Save You A Lot Of Money

Apart from sellers, homebuyers can also benefit from the different seasons. Generally, the rule of thumb regarding timing is that the worst time for sellers is the best time for buyers.

So, for example, if winter is the least favorable season to sell a house, that's when you should strike. After all, most of the time, when a person sells during this time, they're probably in dire need of money. Hence, they most likely would settle for a lower price, which is ideal for you as the homebuyer. Contrarily, since summer is when houses are in high demand, the price would be higher than usual, so it's best to avoid buying a home during this time if you want to save money.

Takeaways

Buying or selling a house, especially as an investor, requires a lot of skills. The ability to stage homes, determine the value of a house, and advertise a property are some examples of these skills. But among them, timing is perhaps one of the essential skills you must develop. Not only can it help you make the process go a lot smoother, but you can also potentially maximize your profits when selling or save money when buying.