Seasonal Real Estate Market Fluctuations
It’s pretty well known in residential real estate that there are seasonal real estate market fluctuations. For example, spring and summer tend to be busy times for listing and showing houses, as buyers and sellers often want to make the move before school starts. The end of the calendar year will often bring a flurry of closings, as people want to have the transaction recorded in the current year.
For those conventional sales, fall can mean a slowing down in listings, and in showings, as people are distracted by holidays, and family life events. However, the market goes on, and investment opportunities are still out there.
In fact, many real estate agents find they have done their best negotiations during the fall and toward the end of the year, as time becomes of the essence for many sellers and for banks wanting to unload properties that are not performing before the start of the new year. And while there are usually fewer properties on the market after summer, there are also fewer people looking for them – and that gives you an advantage to stand out from the crowd.
Fall and winter can also be a great time to get a realistic look at the condition of a property. If there are problems with cracks in the foundation, the roof, or the heating system, these tend to be more visible in colder weather or when snow is likely. If you know that problems like this are occurring, it makes it easier to go forward should you buy the property rather than finding out when you are under contract.
Opportunities may present themselves during the fall for unfortunate reasons. Corporations tend to do their restructuring and layoffs in the fall, cleaning house for the coming year or tightening up their expenditures before the end of the fourth quarter. Owners affected by these decisions may move up their plans to sell, downsize, or move for a new job. Those are often the opportunities where a reasonable offer will not be refused.
Contact me for all your real estate investment needs, no matter what the season! I will guide you to all the properties that fit your plan, and work with you full service on finding investment properties, negotiating, marketing, and connecting you to professionals in property management and financing.