It’s a popular train of thought – January is the worst time to put your house on the market. But this January has proven that age-old adage wrong. Because inventory has been so limited, when a new home comes on the market, it gets a lot of looks very quickly, and often that translates into offers.
Real Estate agents have always thought differently, though. There really is no ‘bad’ time to put a home on the market. If your house isn’t listed, no one can see it, so it can’t be sold.
That being said, let’s take a look at the numbers for January. Realtors must have been guiding their sellers carefully, because new listings were up 16 percent from the previous year.
There were nearly 60 percent more pending sales from January 2017, and because of that, inventory shrank 16 percent.
However, home prices have yet to catch up: the median sales price was $107,500, compared to last year’s $114,700.
We can never point to one particular external force that affects the market. Experts say mortgage rates, the stock market, the job market, new tax code changes, and the availability of inventory all force change. But overall, the feeling is confidence in home buying.
And, always make sure you contact a Realtor in your area for the expertise and guidance you need in buying or selling a home.
Call the Sullivan County Board of Realtors for more information at (845) 794-2735.
By Lynne Freda, Chairperson, Sullivan County Board Of Realtors