Overland Park KS Homes for sale & Johnson County Real Estate Blog: Expect an early Spring for Johnson County Kansas and Kansas City Real Estate Market

Is January the new June when it comes to getting your home on the market? Even though we haven’t had the first significant snowfall of the season yet, the ideal spring season for selling a home begins as early as January, a change to the conventional thinking that April, May, and June are the prime months for selling a house. In Johnson County and around the country, the housing market has favored buyers for several years because of the substantial housing inventory available. Savvy home sellers, realizing that less competition means greater opportunity for a sale at optimum price, are trending toward earlier listing dates so that they are not one of many available homes come June.

The stats for the Kansas City metro support this phenomenon. In January of 2011, 13,558 homes were for sale, compared to the peak inventory months of May and June in which over 16,000 homes were available. This translates to 7.9 months of available inventory in January, compared to nearly 10 months of inventory in May and June, clearly presenting a selling advantage for January listings.

Another attraction to listing in winter is the buyers tend to be more serious about purchasing a home. It takes a commitment to trudge from house to house in January and February. Looking at homes is not something you choose to do as an entertainment/leisure activity in January as opposed to a beautiful day in May. Winter buyers are on a mission and will not stop short of a purchase!

If you believe 2012 will be the year to sell your home, consider bucking convention and getting a quick, competitive start in the market. Please contact the Russell Home Team today for a listing checklist to prepare your home for sale and/or a comparative market analysis (CMA) of where your home should be priced in the current market.