Open house flags wavein the wind in front of a townhouse for sale in Basking Ridge last spring, which is typically a busy month for home sales. Real estate agents are starting to get a head start this winter, hoping they can beat the rush.
It used to be real estate agents spent the slow winter months sending out calendars and working on their business goals for the new year. But in a down market like this one, Realtors see the weeks between now and the Super Bowl as prime time to network for new clients and get a head start on the busy spring season.
“There’s a misunderstanding that winter is quiet,” said Andrea Webb, an agent with Keller Williams in Montclair who recently listed a house in Glen Ridge and had multiple offers by the middle of December.
“That’s not a miracle — it’s a conjunction of doing the right thing to present the house in a way that transcends what you might think would be a market that doesn’t exist,” said Roberta Baldwin, a colleague at Keller Williams. Pricing a house correctly can make it move during any market, she said.
In recent years, the busiest months for home sales have been June and July, but April through August is generally elevated. An average of 461,000 homes sold nationwide in June in 2007 through 2011, according to the National Association of Realtors. By comparison, nearly 252,000 homes were sold in January, consistently the slowest month in that same time period. Autumn sales fall between the two figures.
“Most good associates use the months of November and December as an opportunity to get organized for the coming spring market, which can arrive as early as January,” said Gary Large, president of the New Jersey Association of Realtors. “And, yes, it’s also a good time to take time off to be with family and friends, and recharge the batteries.”
But some realtors have a different approach, particularly as industry leaders are becoming more cautiously optimistic for 2012.
Lawrence Yun, the national association’s chief economist, said more people are taking advantage of the buyer’s market. Existing home sales in November reached its highest mark in 10 months and were 34 percent above the cyclical low point in mid-2010.
“A genuine sustained sales recovery appears to be developing,” he said.
Some agents want to get a jump on that budding market. Homes are traditionally listed in spring when the weather is nice and families are looking so they can move into their new house before the next school year starts. But now, agents suggest their sellers host open houses in the colder months when there is less competition.
“We try to encourage the sellers to pretty much get their house on the market early in January to beat the rush, because most people tend to wait until the spring,” said Marilyn Bailey with Prudential New Jersey Properties in Morristown. “It’s a nice time of year to shop — not as many buyers are out there, so you’re not competing with other offers as much.”
The most serious buyers are out during these months, including corporate clients who are often relocated within the first quarter of the year and families who want to make friends in their new neighborhood before summer starts, Bailey said.
Instead of fresh flowers and a neat lawn, Bailey suggests her sellers make a fire in the fireplace and bake cookies to give the sense of a warm, comforting place. And, she encourage sellers to offer bonuses, like paying the closing costs for buyers to stimulate the market.
“It’s just a different feel when you’re looking at a house in the winter months than in the spring,” she said.
The tactics work. Two weeks ago, Bailey sold a house in Kinnelon to a family moving back to the states from Belgium. They came in November, purchased the house just before Thanksgiving, and are scheduled to close in mid January.
Winter months are also good for networking, taking continuing education classes and attending conferences, other agents said. The holiday party circuit presents ample opportunities to meet new potential clients and get referrals, an approach Kristen Meehan with Coldwell Banker in Metuchen said she favors.
“I don’t come out and hand someone my card and attack them and try to get them to buy a house from me,” Meehan said. Instead, when her profession comes up in conversation, she offers her friendliest advice.
“If anything comes up where they might have a question or (need) advice or anything, I always try to position myself as the person they would go to,” she said.
Sarah Portlock: (973) 392-5994 or sportlock@starledger.com