Fall, the Best Time of the Year to BBYS Your Home

Facts don’t lie.

This is the time of year when leaves start falling, pumpkin spice starts making its appearance, and frantic homeowners start wondering if their home will ever sell.  “Should we make another price reduction to see if a buyer will show up?” is a very frequent question heard after every Open House.

But if you’re a BBYS you have the advantage because

  • you can buy your next home when the demand and prices are the lowest, and
  • sell your current home when demand is greatest and your list price could escalate into a bidding war.
  • WIN, WIN

At this point you might be asking how is this possible, or Real.

Let’s look at the actual graphs showing home sales in the 80110, 80111, 80112, 80113, 80120, 80121, 80122 zip codes where I live and work, and where most of my homebuyers and home sellers reside or have resided.

These demonstrate the cyclic nature of real estate. The charts show the last 5 years but I can show the same pattern going back even more.

It’s a true buy low, sell high opportunity.

Someone once said that a picture is worth a 1000 words.  This picture shows the number of homes sold in my market area, which is where I not only live but also where I do the majority of my business, that is helping people get the best value while buying or selling their home.

There are 3 very significant dates in a real estate transaction:

  • Listing Date (when your home is actually listed for sale)
  • Under Contract Date (when the Buyer and Seller agree on price and terms, and fully execute the Contract To Buy/Sell)
  • Closing Date (when Title is transferred and money changes hands)

The amount of time from when a home is initially listed for sale and when a buyer and seller actually execute a contract to buy/sell is called Days In MLS.  Caution though, this Days In MLS period does not include the "Under Contract" period.  There can be another 30 to 50 days or more before the sale is actually consummated and Title to the property changes hands.

The "Under Contract" period is where your Realtor actually earns the majority of his or her compensation. This time is spent with inspections and negotiations, sometimes lengthy, on your behalf.  This is where your Realtor is working the hardest to save or net you the most money.

Shocker..the media and news reports are giving you misleading information!!!

It's not as if they are giving you incorrect information,they're just giving you the wrong information.

HEADLINE: “November home sales set a new year-over-year record“ So, why is that a misleading headline?

The Sell first process example

Let’s pick a month, say November of 2024.

There were 1,359 homes sold in my market area in November of 2024.

May, 2024

Those homes were probably officially listed for sale in May of 2024.

But the sellers didn’t just wake up one day thinking that they will sell their home today.

There was thought, planning, research, preparation, and even home shopping that went on for weeks, even months, beforehand.

May 2024 and Beyond Until This Average Sale Becomes a Media Statistic

From Listing to Under Contract (8-9 weeks)

  • Each home had an open house every weekend for 8 or 9 weeks.
  • The owners had to keep it clean and presentable for showings, as well as leaving the house each time for those 8 or 9 weeks.
  • During those 8 or 9 weeks they may have received, accepted, dropped the price, and had the contract cancelled a few times.

mid July 2024 – October 2024

Under Contract

The real work begins.

From this point onwards, it will take anywhere from 35 to 45 days (5-6+ weeks) until the actual Closing.

  • Seller’s Agent will open an Escrow account with a Title Company.
  • Seller will provide HOA documentation to Buyer.
  • Seller will provide Due Diligence documents to Buyer.
  • The Buyers will provide the contract details to their lender.
  • The Buyers will secure a property insurance binder.
  • The Buyer will arrange for multiple inspections which include property, roof, radon, sewer, mold, environmental, and any other inspection that may be appropriate.
  • The Buyer’s Agent will provide Inspection Objection reports to Seller’s Agent detailing any deficiencies that Buyers wish to have remediated.
  • Seller’s Agent will discuss reports with Sellers.
  • If Sellers agree to remediate anything, Seller’s Agent will provide Inspection Resolution to Buyers via Buyer’s Agent.
  • Seller’s Agent and Buyer’s Agent will negotiate Inspection Resolution items based on client instructions. This could encompass several iterations.
  • Buyer’s Lender will order Property Appraisal.
  • Title Company will provide Title Search results to Buyer.
  • Appraiser will provide appraisal results to Buyer.
  • Buyer may provide written objection if any of the following are not satisfactory:
    • HOA documents
    • Due Diligence documents
    • Title Search results
    • Appraisal
    • Inspection Resolution
  • Buyer’s Agent and Seller’s Agent will negotiate any objections that have been timely submitted at client direction.  Contract can be terminated if agreement by both Buyer and Seller is not reached.

late October 2024

Finally in October the Buyers received a “Clear to Close“ from their lender, and a closing date was scheduled.

This Closing Date, 5 or 6 months after the home was initially listed for sale, is the date that the media interprets as a home sale.

It’s true, but it doesn’t reflect the processes that took place to get to that date.

We haven’t even discussed when or how you move into your next home.

Read between the lines. What else was happening?

  • Even though you listed your home for sale in May, what led up to it?
  • Did you paint, fix things, look at Zillow a few times, go out looking for your next home?  What did you do?
  • What did you do during open houses and showings?  Did you frantically clean, put things away, rented a storage unit for excess furnishings, go out looking for your next home (because that first one got sold in the meantime)?
  • How many times did you go into panic mode because things weren’t happening fast enough?
  • Did your real estate agent keep you fully informed?
  • Is the final closing date aligned with the closing date on your next home?  Or will you need to make some temporary living arrangements and move twice?

Next time

If this sounds complex or stressful or terribly inconvenient, may I make a suggestion that could be very helpful?

Buy Before You Sell

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