The off-season isn’t a bad time to sell your home. In fact, a good percentage of the sales in our market take place during this time.

Every year around this time, people who have their homes on the market ask me, “Should I take it off the market during the off-season or should I leave it on the market and continue trying to sell it?” We did a little research to help make the decision a little easier for you if you’re going through a similar situation.

If you were to leave your home on the market during the fall season, there are a few reasons why you stand to benefit greatly. One is the fact that the buyers out there during this time of year are serious. They aren’t in town to golf, swim, or fish. They are here to look at real estate and most of them are intent on buying.

There are still plenty of buyers on the market.

Another advantage for sellers around this time of year is that they have much less competition. About 30% of properties are taken off the market during this time of year. With plenty of buyers still on the market, this is more good news for sellers.

How do the numbers differ in the off-season (October 1 to April 31) compare to the numbers during the market’s peak (May 1 to September 30)? We looked back over the last five years, and the answer is not much. In the last five years, 53% of residential home sales and 59% of vacant home sales have come during those peak months. Meanwhile, the off-season has seen 48% of residential sales and 41% of vacant home sales in the last five years.

There’s still an awful lot of opportunity in this market during the off-season, as you can see. If you have any questions or would like to take advantage of current conditions yourself, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you soon.