It seems like everyone always talks about the hot spring market in real estate. And it’s true, spring does have that reputation. But as we enter fall, what can you expect as a buyer or a seller? You might be surprised.
First, a factor to keep in mind is that in our Southern California real estate market, we are fortunate enough to benefit from excellent weather during the fall season. A lot of the national headlines that we see about real estate cooling off at this time of year are in reference to other parts of the country. Our market does not always follow the trends elsewhere.
As a homeowner, what are some reasons that you would consider selling your home in the fall? For one, a lot of house hunters in the beach cities were traveling or enjoying the beaches this summer, leaving no time for them to house hunt. Or perhaps you were travelling or enjoying your time in your home near the beach. Now that we are entering a new season, the timing could be better for everyone to view the property. As an example, I recently had a listing that had very little activity in August and then Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer, rolled around, and we had multiple showings and even an offer.
Also, homeowners should note that there is generally less competition later in the year. For example, in May there were 161 new listings put on the market in Newport Beach and Laguna Beach saw its peak of new listings in April with 139 new listings. Compare that to August 2016 when just 125 homes were listed in Newport and 92 in Laguna Beach.
Less competition can help you attract a buyer and give you more leverage.
On the flip side, as a house hunter, there are excellent reasons for you to search for your dream home now, too. Again, timing is something to consider. If you’re looking to be in a new home before the end of the year or to celebrate the holidays, the time to search is now. One of the main reasons that a lot of people prefer to buy in the spring is so that they can pack up over the summer and avoid mid-school year moves if they have children. However, some people are not as concerned about that and there are plenty of buyers who do not have that issue to contend with anyway.
Another positive to house hunting in the fall is… lack of competiton. That’s right, this time there is lack of competition among house hunters. You are less likely to get stuck in a bidding war and more likely to have some time to weigh your options and make sound decisions. After all, on such a major purchase, isn’t it nice to have some time to do your homework and not feel so rushed?
By Holly Schwartz
Holly Schwartz is a realtor with Villa Real Estate who lives in Eastside Costa Mesa and has been featured on HGTV’s “House Hunters.
