WINTER LISTING

I know…I said the bad thing. We’ve all been told that listing your house for sale in the wintertime is a bad idea because of this, that or the other thing - however it’s been spilled to you.

But guess what? We can’t always control the timing of our lives and sometimes there isn’t another option but to list in the “off-season”… also sometimes we are just ready when we’re ready and we don’t really care what time of year it is because we’re ready now.

That’s ok - you’ve heard all of the negatives about trying to sell your house in the “ber” (brrrrrr) months but if you know me, you know I definitely didn’t show up on your screen to discourage you, that’s not my game.

I, my friend, am here to flex the bright side muscle and tell you why listing your house for sale in the winter can actually be a good thing. Heck, by the time I’m done with you, you might even consider it to be a full out advantage - there are positives and negatives to everything.

Because what you focus on expands, if you’re listing (or thinking of listing) your house this winter - here’s a nice list of reasons why winter listing could actually work out in your favor:

1.) SLIM PICKINGS. Winter often equals scarcity - that means slim pickings and what it means for you is less competition. Just like your life happened, and you needed to list your house in the wintertime - other people’s lives are happening too, and they need to buy in the winter. Perhaps the stars will align.

2.) HOLIDAY STAGING. The people in this town start decorating for Christmas, even before Halloween! Do I agree with that logic, absolutely not - but on December 1 when I do finally throw that tree up, it basically transforms my house. Holiday staging is warm and welcoming, it brings feelings of family and home…seems like the perfect opportunity to invite strangers in and make them want to stick around, no?

3.) MOTIVATED BUYERS. We touched on this a bit when we talked about life happening to everybody. Wintertime buyers are usually motivated to get moving and probably sooner than later - and almost for-sure-tainly before Christmas, please and thank you.

Let’s also give a shout-out to those buyers who are consistently watching the market, even when it has slowed down. Skulking in the shadows, waiting for the right house to show up for sale, ready to pounce on the opportunity regardless of the time of year. Just saying - they’re watching. They’re always watching.

4.) WE’RE CANADIAN. Well, where I’m located - we’re Canadian. Winter is literally a part of our identity around here. Selling your house during the one season that basically defines us is the perfect time to showcase how equipped for the nasty weather the house truly is. That beautiful wood burning stove never looked so damn good as it does when it’s below thirty.

5.) YOUR REALTOR®. It’s true that the market slows down over the winter, I would never deny that fact BUT here comes the sun: in a slower market, your Realtor® is going to have more time to focus on your listing. They will most likely have less listings during the wintertime than any other time of year, they will most likely have less buyers (but the ones they do have are generally motivated) and all of that means that they will have more time and energy to put towards selling your house - maybe even a bigger advertising budget too, if you’re lucky!

6.) HOLIDAYS. Many people take time off during the holidays and in the winter months - house shopping is more fun when you don’t have to schedule it around your work day.

7.) BONUSES. Usually if you’re the kind of person who receives a bonus at your job - this happens around Christmastime or early in the New Year. Do you smell that? Smells like a down payment.

8.) BABIES. Not sure if you knew this, but September is the busiest month for newborns and it sure as heck doesn’t take long, after a new baby joins the family, to realize that you need more space… I guess those new parents better start looking for a bigger house.

Winter listing is not all poo-poo and no-no.

Sometimes when we get under the impression that having to list our homes in the winter months is like a real estate death sentence, we just need to remember that there are positives and negatives to everything.

What will you choose to focus on this winter?