JULIE GARDNER
  • HOME
  • COMPASS
    • WHY COMPASS?
    • COMPASS CONCIERGE
    • COMPASS BRIDGE LOANS
  • LISTINGS
  • ABOUT
    • ABOUT JULIE
    • A DYNAMIC PARTNERSHIP
    • CONTACT
    • PROCESS
    • TESTIMONIALS
    • PRESS
  • PROJECTS
    • BEFORE & AFTER
    • GARDENS
    • OUR TEAM
    • VIDEOS
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • UTILITIES
    • SCHOOLS

The Ebb & Flow

9/30/2016

0 Comments

 
"Are you up?" I texted my good friend, Laurie. "Feel like a walk around the lake?" 

Silence.

I'd already started the laundry, unloaded the dishwasher, filled out an online survey, paid the bills, and answered my emails, and it was only 5:30 am. Mornings are my thing . . . 
so my husband has begrudgingly gotten use to me jumping clumsily out of bed over the years and waking him well before he's ready (love knows no bounds), but this early was a little crazy, even for me. Jet lag to be sure. 

I checked my phone once more (Of course Laurie hadn't seen the message; any sane person would still be asleep). I threw on my sweats, grabbed my earphones, hopped in the car and headed to Lake Merritt even though it was still dark outside. Pandora would have to keep me company. 

I wasn't alone. 

There's a whole flock of us morning birds that make this three plus mile trek a daily habit and I've begun to recognize many of them by sight (although I know none of their names): the elderly Chinese couple who stop to do their side bends at the same spot each day, the young male jogger who runs two laps around the lake with ease, the Muslim wife who's fully covered, but who's Nikes peak out beneath her cloak (I get a kick out of that), and the African American man who always greets me with a nod of his cap and a cheerful "good morning." He's got a smile that lights up the sky. 

Come an hour later, and the players all change. Timing is everything.

That's true in real estate as well, but the stakes are far higher than merely missing the man who makes you smile. Mistime the sale of your property and you're likely to see far less with respect to your sales results. Like the seasons, real estate has an established cyclical rhythm and if you're not aware of the inherent ebb and flow, you may be missing out. 

We're currently in the "Fall Market," which means that we'll see one last healthy push of inventory before the Thanksgiving holidays set in. Once the turkey is served, it'll be slim pickings until after the Super Bowl. If heavy rains are forecast, it may be late February/early March before you begin to see real choices hit the market once again. (No one likes to sell a house in grey, rainy weather.)

Which isnt' to say that the "Winter Market" provides a respite from the go, go, GO marketplace. (It does and it doesn't.) It only provides a breather for Buyers. For Sellers, this is your opportunity to begin early preparations in anticipation of a healthy spring sale. Do your bathrooms and kitchen need updating? Can you begin to purge and donate the items in your closet you no longer use or need? When your kids arrive home from college, could you set them to work clearing out their rooms? (Why yes, you could.) Are their inspections that might reveal overdue repairs that need attention(Undoubtedly.) What hurdles could, and should be eliminatedbefore you place your home on the market come the new year?  

The "Spring Market" begins in earnest at the beginning of February. Savvy Sellers who've utilized the winter months to plan ahead, will be the first out of the gates and should realize good returns, often due to little competition and heavy pent-up demand (there are always too few houses for sale in November, December, January so bring on the Spring bloom!). 

Unfortunately, most prospective Sellers won't make their first contact with a Realtor until January, which means that even with our highly-skilled crews on hand, your "market-ready" home isn't likely to debut until March or April, when the majority of other listings will also appear. Even so, spring provides both the greatest number of opportunities for purchase and the greatest number of Buyers as well, so even if you are delayed, your home should still find strong demand well into June. But if I get a vote, may I suggest that you don't wait until the last minute. There's no harm in getting started early. (Really.)

Because the Bay Area is both blessed and cursed with high demand and low inventory (depending on what side of the equation you sit), our market experiences very little "softening," no matter the season. Still, vacations and summer plans can reduce the competition just enough to provide an opening. In other words, if you've missed out, the "Summer Market" may be your best bet to secure a home of your dreams. 

If we put this cycle on a graph, the sales would climb from February through May, level off from June through July, dip slightly in August, climb once more in September, and then drop a bit in November through January. That's not a hard and fast rule, but certainly, follows a well-worn pattern when it comes to Piedmont and East Bay real estate activity. 

All things being equal, you should sell in the robust Spring Market and buy in the discounted Winter Market, but here's the catch; there's not much to buy during the holidays which is why most Buyers will be forced to wait until inventory improves. And for those of us paying attention - all things are neverequal. Moreover, homes here in the Bay Area are far from cookie-cutter, which means that if you come across the house that sets your heart aflutter, you should make an offer (!!!) - regardless of which month the property presents. 

Are their "deals" to be had? Rarely, meaning that they are far and few between. In fact, they're like finding lightening in a bottle, which is to say that I haven't seen one lately ... but there IS value to be sure! Define your personal"value proposition" and the market becomes far more easy to navigate - summer, winter, spring or fall. 

In the meantime, there's plenty we can do and it all begins with setting your intentions, aligning your actions, and then working to achieve your goals - whether it's buying, or selling - or both!

How can I help you?
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Subscribe

    Author

    Julie Gardner, has been writing The Perspective for 18 years and has published more than 670 essays on life and real estate. 

    Picture

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    October 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008
    July 2008
    June 2008
    May 2008
    April 2008
    March 2008

    Categories

    All
    Business
    Design
    Drought
    Holiday
    Home Maintenance
    Homes For Sale
    Life
    Market
    Politics
    Renovation

    RSS Feed

    View my profile on LinkedIn
Piedmont · Oakland · Berkeley
 510.326.0840
julie@juliegardner.com
DRE# 01431765
​COMPASS

  • HOME
  • COMPASS
    • WHY COMPASS?
    • COMPASS CONCIERGE
    • COMPASS BRIDGE LOANS
  • LISTINGS
  • ABOUT
    • ABOUT JULIE
    • A DYNAMIC PARTNERSHIP
    • CONTACT
    • PROCESS
    • TESTIMONIALS
    • PRESS
  • PROJECTS
    • BEFORE & AFTER
    • GARDENS
    • OUR TEAM
    • VIDEOS
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • UTILITIES
    • SCHOOLS