By Stephen Mccarthy
Maybe!
You never know if you have good timing until it is all over.
Quite often you do not have any choices on when to sell. Factors might be at work that dictate placing a property on the market.
A life change, a job change or a new opportunity might give you a SELL NOW mentality.
In this case you deal with current market conditions, good or bad and get ready to sell.
However if you are going to plan out when to sell a property in Boston you might be wise to gear towards the Spring market.
Typically condo inventory in South Boston peaks in June and then again in October.
But in my experience this is a little late in the Spring and Fall market to list a property.
I have always believed the Spring market serves Sellers best. Consider in South Boston many 1st time buyers are trying to transition from renting to buying. And many of them are trying to avoid resigning a lease for Sept 1st.
At a certain point that group of buyers either makes their purchase or signs a lease.
So if I have my pick I am going to list in the 1st half of the year. And make no mistake buyers get active in the 1st quarter. But it is April and May that annually produces the most activity. Properties listed For Sale and offers accepted with closings in June. This chart shows from Raveis Local Market Insights shows when sales closed over the past two years.
So it is really not a surprise say the Spring market is the best time to list.
It is an old adage I heard early in my career that the Spring market in Boston doesn’t begin until after Easter in Boston. This year Easter is early March 31, 2024
That does not mean you should wait for the Spring market however!!! Check out this chart that shows in 2022 (before mortgage rates spiked) March had the most listings take an offer.
Because in the end none of us can predict what the market will bring.
Everyone thinks what happens if I sell now and then the market jumps up?? But what happens if you wait and then the market drops?!!?
So in the end I suggest you do not try and predict the market. Instead focus on your own goals and objectives. The things you can control and understand.
A conversation with an experienced real estate agent can help you decide whether or not now is the time to list your property for sale.
