5 Reasons To List Your Home For Sale In The Summer

According to many real estate experts, selling a home in the dead of summer is difficult. Statistically, spring is the most popular season for selling homes, with autumn coming in second and summer at third. Despite this general consensus, many sellers aren't able to sell during the peak seasons. A sudden job transfer or an unexpected growth in family won't allow sellers to wait. If you're selling your home and are going to have to list it during the summer, not to worry. There are some benefits for listing your home for sale during this traditionally "slow" season.

1. Less Competition - There's a lot more inventory on the market during the spring and fall months, which means a lot more competition for sellers. During the summer, house listings drop. That's because the assumption is that no one buys during the summer. People do buy during the summer, but there aren't as many people looking, so your home may not get the same amount of traffic as it would during the peak seasons. Remember though, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. The people who do come to look at your house are likely to be more serious buyers. A house on the market in the early fall could have more views, but perhaps only half of them were from serious buyers.

2. Summer Shoppers May Be More Likely to Make An Offer - The two "extreme" seasons for weather, summer and winter, are traditionally the least popular for house hunting; however, the people who do endure the heat and cold to visit your home are more likely to be serious buyers who need to find a house soon. Use this to your advantage when selling your home in the summer by adding a few extra personal touches for your visitors. You might also consider targeting your marketing to first time home buyers who likely don't have a home of their own to sell.

3. More Creative Ways to "Show Off" Your House - To make the most out of your home viewings, use the summer to your advantage. Make sure your lawn is mowed, watered and looks as nice and inviting as possible. Plant some summer flowers and add fresh mulch. If you have a patio, spruce it up with some new or freshly-painted lawn furniture. Uncover and clean off your outdoor grill. Let visitors envision themselves having a backyard barbeque. Leave a cooler of ice and water bottles for your guests to help themselves to. If you have a surround sound speaker system, put on some fun, summery music. There are many ways to creatively make your house look like the ideal summer home.

4. Longer Daylight Hours - Due to daylight savings, the summer months (in most areas) are characterized by longer days, which could mean more time for potential buyers to come by to view your home. A lot of buyers want to view a home during the day or twilight hours. Summertime provides a great opportunity for more buyers to see your home in one day.

5. Ideal for Moving Families - Although the group of people who move during the summer is comparatively small, much of it is made up of families. Generally, parents do not want to move during the school year, so they will wait until early to mid summer to purchase their new home. If your home is ideal for families, you stand a good chance of getting attention from house hunters with children during the summer months.

Keep in mind that markets vary depending on location. Talk to your mortgage counselor or real estate agent for more information on the best time to list your home.