Winter on the Hill: Are Homebuyers Hibernating or Just Warming Up?

Guest contributor Jessica Wilkie is a Hill resident and Realtor with M Squared Real Estate. This post also appeared on her blog, Wilkie on the Hill.

We’re moving into the long, cold months of winter but does that mean putting thoughts of buying or selling real estate to rest until spring, as many would believe? Let’s take a closer look and see what’s happened in Capitol Hill real estate, ZIP 20003, over the past five years come wintertime.

While the number of sales typically slows down between December and March (see the first chart), it does not appear that winter months mean lower prices (see the middle chart). That is really good news for sellers. Again, while every year has had spikes and drops, there is no discernible pattern suggesting that prices drop off during the cold weather months.

How about the number of days it takes to sell? Although a bit sporadic, I do detect a trend here. The average number of Days on Market (see the third chart) tends to go up in colder months like January, February, and March. Conversely, homes sell more quickly in May, June, and July when more buyers are looking and it may be an easier time for many people to move. If you put your home on the market in the colder months, you might expect it to take a bit longer to sell. But since we still have a vibrant market, there is no reason to expect price to suffer.

A few bright notes to warm you up…

• I’ve sold homes in December, January and February and let me tell you: people looking in those months are motivated buyers!

• Another interesting trend for our ZIP code in 2011: the number of sales is down from 2010, but prices are definitely trending upward. In 2007, we had 4 months where median sales price was below $500,000. In ‘08, 5 months, in ‘09, 8 months. In ‘10, five months.

• And this year — every month has shown a median sales price above $500,000. Lower inventory means higher demand.

Something to learn from all this: if you are a homeowner considering selling a home on Capitol Hill, keep in mind that limited inventory and excellent interest rates mean that winter buyers are motivated, looking at everything they can, and they are paying what they need to to get into the homes that show well and meet needs.

So is winter the time to hibernate from real estate on Capitol Hill? Not hardly. In fact, things may just be warming up.