Does the housing market slow down in the winter?

What happened?  Where did my summer go, with the suntan, the days at the beach, and drinking corona's in the backyard?? It's November already! Typically, I'd rather stay inside, by the fire, and switch to the red wine.  Is this what homebuyers are doing?  I don't think so.

NOW is the b-e-s-t time to buy a new home.  Why?  There is less inventory, prices are LOW, interest rates are LOW, and sellers, whether they are actual people or robo-signers, are willing to make a deal.  And really, the best time to buy is when the homebuyer is ready!!

High Schools Closing, School Fundraisers, and life choices

It was announced today that 130-year old Ursuline in Santa Rosa is closing due to lack of funding.  My daughter is in second grade- and I was most certainly NOT going to send her to the local public high school!  I WAS going to send her to Ursuline.  Every day her elementary school sends home fund-raising information- let's sell wrapping paper, chocolates, and have a walk-a-thon so that we can buy copy paper!  Not so much fun when the classroom gets broken into and the teacher's laptop is stolen.  Where will the money come from to replace that?? I think I'm opting for home-schooling, or maybe a co-op.  Know any good ones?

Perhaps our new gover-nator will deem it socially acceptable to provide funding to childhood education, instead of directing funds to criminals.  Let's raise responsible, contributing members of society, so that they won't go to jail in the first place!  But wait, they'll be too busy fundraising for their children's schools!

What is going on in the Real Estate Market?

Home sales typically decline in September/ October, as people are less likely to move when school starts.  As a result, list prices and number of units on the market decline.

One interesting metric this season, however, is that months of inventory has declined as well.  In May, we had almost 7 months worth of homes on the market- this has dropped to just under 4.5 months in October.  What does this mean?  There are less homes on the market, less for buyers to choose from, sellers are waiting until spring to market their homes on the advice of their agents.  Is that good or bad for sellers?  Now would actually be an ideal time to list your home- less competition on the market!  Additionally, you would pre-empt the "shadow inventory" of bank-owned properties that are waiting in the wings to come onto the market, and have more negotiating power with buyers.


Valerie Leivo is a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty in Santa Rosa.  I can be reached at 707-490-5527, via email greenvalerie@kw.com, http://www.greenvalerie.com/.