Thinking About Selling This Fall? You Haven’t Missed Your Window

Summer is winding down, the kids are back in school, and maybe you're starting to think about the plans you put on hold over the summer.

If selling your home was one of those plans, you might be wondering:

Did I miss my chance? Should I just wait until spring?

I hear this question a lot, especially this time of year.

And my answer is: Not necessarily.

Fall isn't the dead season some people assume it is. There are still plenty of buyers looking, and in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the market isn't simply shutting down because summer is over.

In fact, if you're thinking about selling in Mansfield, Texas, Arlington, Texas, Burleson, Texas or another North Texas community, there are some good reasons to at least have the conversation before deciding to wait.

Buyers Don't Stop Looking Just Because Summer Ends

There's a common idea that if you don't sell during the spring or summer, you have to wait until the following year.

Real estate just doesn't work that way.

People move in the fall for all kinds of reasons.

Maybe a job changed.
Maybe the family needs more space.
Maybe someone is relocating to North Texas.
Maybe they're finally ready to stop renting.
Maybe they're trying to get settled before the holidays.

And some buyers are simply watching the market until they find the right house.

Nationally, the housing market has been slower this year, but that doesn't mean buyers have disappeared. NAR reported that August existing-home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million, while inventory had risen to 1.62 million homes. That means buyers have choices—but it also means there are still millions of transactions taking place.

DFW Has Its Own Story

This is where I think it's important for North Texas sellers to pay attention to the local numbers rather than assuming the national headlines tell the whole story.

The latest Realtor.com data for August shows 29,549 active listings across Dallas-Fort Worth, down 4.4% from a year earlier. Nationally, active listings were actually up 3.6%.

That's a pretty important distinction.

There are still plenty of homes for buyers to choose from, but DFW isn't flooded with inventory the way some other markets are.

At the same time, buyers are being selective. The median DFW listing price was about $425,000 in August, and homes were spending a median of 58 days on the market. Listings with price cuts were also up 28% from a year earlier.

To me, that says something very important to sellers:

There are buyers. But your house needs to give them a reason to choose it.

What About Mansfield and Arlington?

Local markets can look very different, even within the same part of North Texas.

In Mansfield, Texas, homes were taking about 44 days to sell over the three months ending in August. The median sale price was about $465,000, and 42.4% of listings had experienced a price drop.

In Arlington, Texas, homes were selling in about 38 days, with a median sale price around $334,000. About 42% of Arlington listings had experienced a price drop.

Those numbers tell me two things.

First, homes are absolutely still selling.

Second, sellers can't assume that simply putting a home on the market is enough.

Your pricing, condition, presentation and marketing strategy matter.

Fall Buyers May Be Serious Buyers

One thing I actually like about the fall market is that the people still shopping aren't necessarily just browsing.

By September, many buyers who started casually looking earlier in the year have either purchased already or have decided to keep looking.

The buyers who are still actively searching may have a specific reason they need to move.

And that can be a good thing for a seller.

If your home is the right fit, priced appropriately and marketed well, you don't need hundreds of buyers.

You need the right buyer.

That's an important distinction.

Don't Wait for a Perfect Market

I also want to point out something I tell sellers all the time:

There is no perfect time to sell.

Waiting for rates to drop, prices to rise, or inventory to change can sound like a good strategy—but every market has tradeoffs.

If mortgage rates change, buyer demand may change.

If prices rise, the home you're planning to buy may rise too.

If more sellers enter the market next spring, you'll potentially have more competition.

And if you wait six months, your own plans may change.

That's why I don't think the question should simply be, “Is fall the best time to sell?”

A better question is:

“Does selling this fall make sense for my situation, and what would it take to compete successfully in today's market?”

If You're Selling This Fall, Pricing Matters

This is probably the biggest piece of advice I'd give a seller right now.

Don't price your home based solely on what your neighbor got six months ago.

Don't price it based on what you need to get out of the house.

And don't automatically add a little extra “just to see what happens.”

Today's buyers have access to an incredible amount of information. They're comparing your home to everything else they can afford.

In Mansfield, Arlington and throughout South DFW, buyers can see what's available, how long properties have been sitting and when sellers have reduced their prices.

Your home needs to make sense from the moment a buyer sees it online.

That means the photos, condition, price, description and overall presentation all need to work together.

Fall Can Actually Work in Your Favor

There's another reason I wouldn't automatically dismiss a fall listing.

Some homeowners think, “There will be fewer buyers in the fall.”

There may be fewer casual buyers.

But there can also be fewer competing sellers.

If someone needs to sell before the end of the year, they may not want to wait until spring when more homeowners traditionally put their properties on the market.

That can create an opportunity for a well-prepared listing.

It's not a guarantee of a quick sale. Nothing in real estate is.

But it is one more reason not to assume your only opportunity is spring.

So, Should You Sell This Fall?

Maybe.

And that's exactly why I think the conversation should start with your situation, not a calendar.

If you're relocating, downsizing, moving up, buying another home or simply wondering what your equity looks like, let's look at the numbers.

We can look at what similar homes are actually selling for, how much competition you're facing, how long comparable homes are taking to sell and what you could realistically expect from a fall listing.

Then you can make a decision based on information instead of trying to time the market perfectly.

The Bottom Line

Summer ending doesn't mean the housing market shuts down. Buyers are still out there, homes are still selling, and DFW still has opportunities for sellers who are prepared and priced correctly.

If you've been thinking about selling your home in Mansfield, Texas, Arlington, Texas, Burleson, Texas or another North Texas community, don't automatically wait until spring. Let's look at what's happening in your specific neighborhood and price range, talk through what your home could realistically sell for, and determine whether this fall could be the right time for your move.

Ready to find out what your home could be worth in today's market? Contact me, Stephanie Deeds, and let's talk about your options.

Source & Attribution

This article was inspired by information originally published by Keeping Current Matters (KCM) and incorporates current market information from the National Association of REALTORS®, Realtor.com, Redfin and MetroTex. Market conditions vary by city, neighborhood and price point, so current local comparable sales should be considered when determining a property's pricing and selling strategy.