Life Has a Funny Way of Ignoring the Real Estate Calendar

I’m having a lot of conversations with homeowners right now that start with the same question:

“Should we wait to sell in the spring?”

And my answer is usually:

It depends. What are you trying to accomplish?

Fewer homes sell toward the end of the year. That’s true.

But fewer doesn’t mean few.

Nationally, nearly 1 million existing homes sold between October and December last year, accounting for almost one out of every four sales for the year.

And we see the same thing here in West Michigan. Plenty of homes continue to sell in October, November and December.

The market slows down.

It doesn’t shut down.

Before We Talk About Timing, Let’s Talk About Your Goal

If your only goal is to sell for the absolute highest price possible, we may have one conversation about timing.

But that isn’t everyone’s goal.

Maybe you want to sell and buy, and you'd rather shop for your next home when you aren't competing with five or ten other buyers.

Maybe you want your home to stand out when there are fewer competing listings on the market.

Maybe you have a job change, a relocation, a growing family, an empty nest or simply a house that no longer fits the way you live.

Or maybe you’re in no hurry at all, but there’s a price that would make you say:

“For that number, we’d move.”

Those goals matter.

NAR notes that while buyer activity typically slows in the fall and winter, there are also generally fewer homes available for sale. And the buyers who are still actively looking tend to have a reason to be in the market.

That can create a very different selling experience than the spring market.

Not necessarily better.

Not necessarily worse.

Just different.

Life Has a Funny Way of Ignoring the Real Estate Calendar

People don’t only move in April and May.

Jobs change. Families grow. Kids leave home. Relationships change. People relocate. Someone finds the house they’ve been waiting for.

Life has a funny way of ignoring the real estate calendar.

Which is why I don't love making a real estate decision based solely on the month.

Instead, I want to know:

What could your home realistically sell for today?

What would you walk away with?

What does your next move look like?

And what matters most to you in the process?

Because sometimes waiting until spring makes perfect sense.

And sometimes, once we look at the whole picture, there’s a reason not to wait.

The right time to sell isn’t necessarily a season. It’s when the market, the numbers and your goals line up.