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  Today, I’m sharing a few thoughts about our winter real estate market.  Let me begin with this: the winter real estate market doesn’t get the credit it deserves. If you are considering whether you should buy or sell a home now, consider the advantages this particular time of the year can bring. To home owners trying to decide whether or not to wait for spring, here are some thoughts to ponder about selling in the winter.

While it is wise to speak to your real estate agent about current market value and conditions within your community, winter may be an ideal time to list your home for sale. Some of the core benefits of selling this winter include the following:

  • You may get multiple offers. Depending on where you live in the Greater Cincinnati Area, you may see more people want to buy your home. That is because the inventory of available homes for sale is lower now than it has been. Reports from the National Association of Realtors show that homes are selling with 3.6 offers in today’s market condition.
  • There’s less competition. Take a look at new home sales and existing home sales. What you’ll find is that there is a steep decline from the summer and fall months into winter. That means there is more chance for your home to stand out. More so, if you sell your home now, before the onset of the spring market when pending home sales grow rapidly and competition goes up.  Selling now can get more attention for your home.
  • Many homes are selling fast. Sellers may see their homes sell quickly in today’s market. If you are looking for a way to sell your home quickly, doing so when there is even less inventory and competition,  just makes sense.  And although each area of town is a bit different, many are sure to find their home being sold at higher home prices as well.

To those of you thinking of buying a home this year, I’m sure you’re wondering if winter is a good time to buy. Here’s a few thoughts about that.

For those who are considering buying a new home, winter can prove to be challenging, in some of the lousy weather to move belongings. But again, there are some solid reasons to make your move now before the spring market takes off. Here are three of them.

1. Selling now may mean cashing in equity. If you plan to sell your home so you can move, you may have a significant amount of equity to take advantage of – due to your home’s value increasing over time. That means you’ll likely have money in hand to use to buy your next residential property. CoreLogic reports homeowners saw an increase of $51,500 on average in equity in the previous year.

2. Good mortgage rates exist. If you buy now, you may be able to tap into low mortgage interest rates, saving you money. Mortgages for the housing market are readily available and lenders are actively looking for borrowers to secure these loans. If you’re currently renters wanting to become a first time home buyer, you may find that now is a great time to make that move because it’s simply more affordable to do so.


3. Buy before home prices grow. If you’re still waiting to determine if you should rent versus buy, don’t wait any longer to make your decision to buy. Buyers today are likely to see lower home prices than if they wait another year or more. The same applies to builders and new home construction – costs are only going to continue to rise in the coming years.

 So, buyers and sellers may want to take advantage of the current market conditions this winter to leverage better outcomes in the long term. It just makes good sense to make the best choice likely to help you get what you want.

 Again, I’m Dan Hendricks with Keller Williams Advisors. If you’re weighing the options, I’m happy to help you understand some of the factors that may be relevant to your own individual situation. I hope to hear from you soon!