Blog Post: Savvy Sellers Are Sitting Pretty

The calendar has flipped to February and this is often the time people start thinking about putting their homes on the market in the spring. We’re busy doing lots of “pre-list” consultations, helping our sellers figure out what they DO and DO NOT need to do to prepare their homes to sell in April or May. After all, you don’t want to spend money you don’t have to - right?!

But Savvy Sellers are taking advantage of market conditions and they are not waiting til spring! Why?

Let’s take a look at what’s happening in our local market by looking at the statistics. (You might think stats are boring, but they paint a VERY interesting picture).        

In the past week, 21 homes have gone under contract in the Vienna Oakton market! And 57 percent of them sold in two weeks or less. WOW!

Why is selling quickly often a good thing?

Well, the obvious reason is that it’s less stressful. It’s hard to keep your home in mint showing condition day after day after day. And it can be emotionally draining as well. Sometimes you’re just ready to move forward instead of being in limbo.

But that’s not the best reason why selling quickly is a good thing.

Studies show that the longer a home is on the market, the less it will sell for. Many people think when you sell your home quickly, it means you “gave it away." But in fact, the opposite is true. According to a National Association of Realtors study: “The longer a home stays on the market, the further below list price it drops. Homes that sold in the first 4 weeks averaged 1 percent MORE than the list price; 4 to 12 weeks on the market averaged 6.4 percent LESS than list price; and 24 weeks averaged more than 10 percent LESS than list price.”

Right now, Vienna and Oakton have between a 2.2 and 4.4 month supply of homes. That means certain price ranges are in SELLER’s Markets (And those that are not, are still in a Balanced Market). And that is good for sellers.

The Belt Team has already sold several homes this year within the first week they were on the market. Our sellers were very happy - both with price and with timing. They were thrilled they didn’t wait til spring when everyone else is on the market and there’s lots more competition. And now our savvy sellers are sitting pretty.

Here are the stats for the past week:

Last week in Vienna Real Estate (22180,22181, 22182):

• Number of Contracts: 21
• Average Days on Market for Active Listings: 141 days
• Average Days on Market for Listings That Went Under Contract: 71 days
• Inventory: 151 homes on the market
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 90 day contract rate): 2.9 months
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 30 day contract rate): 2.2 months

Here are last week’s stats for Oakton Real Estate (22124):

• Number of Contracts: 4
• Average Days on Market for Active Listings: 113 days
• Average Days on Market for Listings That Went Under Contract: 54
• Inventory: 61 homes on the market
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 90 day contract rate): 4.4 months
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 30 day contract rate): 2.9 months

You can also see year-over-year stats for the past 5 years for January & February on our web site. (Of course, February 2012 stats remain to be seen, but we like to watch for trends.)

For more from the Belt Team, click here.