Time to Sell?

September 2, 2005

This is one of the most common questions we get. There is not a general answer. Like everything else, it depends on many factors including location, condition, price range and current market conditions.

Since the market dynamics are changing, it is important to remember a few key facts about "time on market". Lower priced homes usually sell faster because there is a larger pool of buyers. Conversely, executive and estate properties take much longer because of a smaller pool of buyers. Also, see 2005 Loudoun County Monthly Sales Data, source of buyers and marketing plans. History shows that when a home goes on the market, the peak interest comes in the first two to three weeks. To illustrate this point:

INTEREST LEVEL IN PROPERTY (for illustrative purposes only, each bar represents ~1 week)

Listing (Goes on the market) Week 10

This is the reason it is extremely important to get the price in the right range up front. If a property is over priced, it will be shunned and it gets "stale". The longer a property is on the market raises the question of "what's wrong?" to agents and potential buyers.

We perform periodic market studies by location, type and price range to keep abreast of market conditions and use this in designing the right marketing plan for our clients.

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