UPDATE: When is the best time to sell a house? (Part 2 of 2)
I read a lot of national real estate reports. They usually have little to do with north Scottsdale real estate, but I like to stay up on the national trends so I can speak about them to our clients. Another positive is they get me thinking. I like to see what data national experts extrapolated to arrive at what conclusions. Then, because I live and breathe real estate data aka – I’m part geek, I apply the research methods to real estate data in North Scottsdale to see whether they hold any water locally.
Does comparing Original List Price to Final Sales Price show when is the best time to sell a house?
Here’s the short answer… nope. Supply and demand are the real factors at play of when it’s a good time to sell. Comparing list price to sales price talks more about the direction the market is moving than what time of year is best to sell a house.
However, since some un-named national friends published a report saying the comparison of list price to sales price shows the best time to sell your home is March, April, and May, I thought we should localize the data for North Scottsdale, AZ.
First allow me to define North Scottsdale. I’m going to use this shape on the map. It’s one we regularly use for clients when they tell us they would like to live in North Scottsdale, but aren’t familiar with the areas. It follows Scottsdale Road north then turns west on Dynamite and heads north to include Desert Mountain real estate, Troon North real estate and then comes back down to include Silverleaf, McDowell Mountain Ranch, and Grayhawk.
Listing Prices compared to Selling Prices
I pulled all new listings for 36 months from January 2010 to December 2012. Then got rid of the homes that never sold. Some people trying to sell their home end up cancelling or their listing expires. There are a bunch of reasons some homes are listed and never sell. Regardless we’re only looking at data for those homes that sold. Here’s what I found.
Based on this chart what time of year is best to sell your house? Sorry, I know I already answered that. This data does not answer that question. However, this data answers another question more geared towards buyers.
When buying a house, should you offer less than the listing price? The answer to that question jumps at you. This chart shows in our improving market how important it is to make offers close to listing prices. Let’s look at the same data points presented slightly different.
Conclusion
My effort to use the Original List Price to Sales Price ratio to show when is the best time to sell a house actually showed me that it’s more important for buyers to make full-price offers on homes they fall in love with.
Next week we’ll look at housing demand. I’m thinking the best time to sell a house in North Scottsdale might be when the most buyers are out looking. Hint: we’re getting close.
Speak up if you would a one-on-one appointment to talk about strategies in selling your house. This is what we do.
