The chilly winter months may further slow an already frosty residential real estate market, local experts and Realtors said, though some pointed out that those braving the cold are more likely to close on a deal than in warmer months.
“Personally, I?ve had some of my best months in the winter. You can never predict how it?ll be,” said Ilene Kessler, immediate past president of the Maryland Association of Realtors and a Realtor with Re/Max Advantage Realty in Columbia. “The people who are looking are very motivated. They?re not the speculators who say maybe yes, maybe no.”
Others, though, were less optimistic.
“It?s going to be slower than past winters,” said Bill Cassidy, sales manager at Long and Foster Fells Point. “Even some of our most motivated buyers and sellers are saying, ?let?s take a breather and see what the beginning of the year brings to the marketplace.? ”
That “breather” is symptomatic of a larger trend among the local population, said Anirban Basu, chairman and CEO of the Sage Policy Group.
“I think it?s going to be slow as usual, and I think it could be slower, in fact,” Basu said. “A typical pattern of behavior in this current market is to do nothing. Do nothing is not good for Realtors, homebuilders and others.”
Both Basu and Cassidy said a market turnaround was unlikely until a majority of potential buyers were convinced that the market had hit its lowest point.
“I feel this strong feeling among buyers that they want to see a light at the end of the tunnel [before buying],” Cassidy said. “A smart buyer keeps an eye on the weather, and right now the weather report isn?t very good.”
Of course, actual weather conditions remain a major factor in sales, or lack thereof, for the winter season.
“If we have 10 feet of snow,” Kessler said, “it doesn?t matter how good the interest rates are.”
Tips for selling a home during the winter
» Turn on the lights: Make sure your house shines during the early winter nights.
» The price is right: Don?t play games with the smaller number of prospective buyers.
» Home for the holidays: Some say don?t put your house on the market until after the first of the year, but there are still buyers out there. Don?t take your house out of play.
Source: Marc Witman, a partner at broker Yerman, Witman, Gaines & Garceau
