Winter Is For Home SELLING

You read that right! If you’ve considered selling your home, you better get a move on!

I’ve insatiably tracked statistical trends in the real estate market over my 20-year career. It’s one of my favorite, and most under-appreciated, parts of the job. Back in September, I wrote about how Fall has been the best season for home buyers over the past decade. Is it perhaps a coincidence that I had more clients buy homes this past Fall season than any other time of 2023? Or perhaps my readers are listening to my insights!

Mining from that same data I used last year, its clear to see that the Winter season (what I consider Jan 1^st-March 31^st) has consistently seen the largest seasonal median price appreciation for Sacramento County homes than any other time of year.  From 2013-2023, home prices have appreciated on average $24,000 during the Winter season, outpacing even the assumed “prime” Spring selling season.

Its often believed that the real estate market “hibernates” during winter. Its true that fewer transactions take place during the winter, but this is the very reason why winter is a seller’s market! There are fewer homes for sale to compete with, but buyers have consistently shown up in our mild California winter seasons prepared to buy, driving up prices.

Presently, there are fewer than 900 homes for sale in Sacramento County, a historically low number by normal comparisons. In my hometown of Folsom, with a growing population of over 80,000 people, there are only 64 homes currently for sale. Overall, this is very unhealthy for our market, but for would-be sellers, it doesn’t get any better than this!

The statistics are again in your favor if you are contemplating selling your home. Maybe health concerns are prompting a sale, or a relocation for work or family. Whatever the reason, if you’ve been thinking about selling your home in the greater Sacramento area, give me a call so we can do some localized analysis on your market, competition, and ultimately potential selling power of your home. With mortgage rates dropping it is sparking renewed interest for buyers to re-enter the market as we head into winter. Don’t think waiting till spring is your best bet. As I hope I just showed you, history would suggest otherwise.