Market Trends

6 Best Months to Sell

Which are the six best months to sell your house?? Most people would venture to say June-July-August and then say ‘Definitely not December or January”.  Looking back over available inventory and sales activity during the past year, here are the months I found to have the most sales activity per individual listing.

  1. April
  2. March
  3. May
  4. June
  5. February
  6. January

I used sales per listing as my yard stick because if you have a lot of competition for a given property, then multiple offers are likely and prices are going to get bid up.  It’s ECON 101 – basic supply and demand.  Tax Day or April 15th is about the peak, with the peak 🗻 season covering the first six months of the year.

And just in case you’re curious, here’s how the rest of the year shakes out:

  1. July
  2. August
  3. September
  4. October
  5. December
  6. November

So, if you’ve got a house 🏠 on the market currently, you’re wading through the time of year when the number of buyers underwhelm listings.  Soon, very soon, the tide will turn.  If you’re wanting to sell your house, then come January 1, you might want to get your house on the market.  If you’re not quite sure what to do to get it ready or what to price it at… easy, peazy – give us a call.  No strings attached!   We are here to help!

When Do the Most Homes Sell in Central Indiana? 

Everyone seems to know, but as the saying goes, “Numbers don’t lie.”  During the past year, June was the biggest month, with 4064 closings.  That was followed by August with 3802; with May and July not far behind.  April, September and October also surpassed the 3000 mark.  The slowest months for closings were January and February at 1901 and 2146.

Now, some of that may have you scratching your head, because it sure seems like it was crazy busy in February and March this year, with bidding wars being the subject around the water cooler and at the local pub.  So what gives?  Well, closings typically follow offers by 30-60 days, as people work through inspections and mortgage approval.  Which is why it was, in fact, crazy busy during the February – May period.

Home Sales by Month
3144      October
2817      November
2773      December
1901      January
2146      February
2966      March
3212      April
3739      May
4064      June
3702      July
3802      August
3144      September

Until Next Time, Make It A Great One!

Are Home Sales Declining?

In the past few days, I’ve had 6 or 7 people tell me they heard home sales have been declining for the past six months. It appears this is gospel and spreading like wildfire. But whoa! Just a minute there pilgrim…

 
#1 That message was likely a replay of the National Association of Realtors’ monthly press release. It was for the nation as a whole.
 
#2 But, real estate doesn’t trade on the NASDAQ or NY Stock Exchange. Real estate is a local market. So, paying attention to national real estate numbers is of limited value. Paying attention to what is happening here in your own backyard is of far greater importance.
 
#3 And that is (🥁🥁🥁) Sales here in Central Indiana have been running ahead of a year ago and are up 3% for the 12 months just ended. Yes, they were down in September from September 2017 by 3%, but since that is the only recent month where that has occurred we’ll have to wait to see if that is the start of a trend or just a one off. Median sale prices in September were up 9% over a year ago. And despite an increase in new listings, the available inventory per buyer was down 16% from a year ago. So for now anyway, here in Indiana we’re seeing increasing sales and prices, and with tightening inventory selection.

So when you want a local perspective, give me a call at (317) 625-0655.
Until next time, make it a good one! – Bob