When Does the Spring Market Start in Northern Virginia?

One of the more common questions I get from sellers is when is the best time of the year to sell?
The question behind the question when can I make the most money with the least amount of hassle?
The answer to that question goes back to the basic economic principle of supply and demand. When selling your home if you can put your home on the market when demand is high (NOW) and supply is low (NOW) you can be in a situation where buyers are competing for your Northern Virginia home and driving up the price.
For example in Fairfax, Virginia in the 22033 zip code we saw a 24% decrease in the number of homes sold in 2022 from 2021 and a corresponding increase of 9.8% of the average sale price. Supply went down, prices went up. There are similar numbers in the Prince William and Loudon County housing markets.
They will often reference the “busy spring market” and ask if they should wait until April or May to put their home on the market. Historically the warmer months bring out the buyers. Often families with school age children prefer to move over the summer when school is out so they will put their home on the market in April and May and move out the end of June. However, please know that a lot more houses will be on the market in the later spring months so buyers will have more choices. As the supply increases you could experience a lower demand for your home.
While I cannot speak to other parts of the country, I can say with confidence that the “spring market” is now in Northern Virginia (February 2023) in terms of the number of buyers ready and willing to make offers and go under contract.
A recent weekend poll of agents who held open houses in early February revealed extremely high attendance and multiple offers on homes again.
We are seeing a slight uptick in the number of homes for sale from January to early February but there still are far fewer homes for sale than there are buyers.
Don’t get me wrong, gone are the days where you don’t have to get your home show ready. In early 2022 the buyer frenzy was at a peak and we saw homes do well that we would normally consider fixer uppers. In my experience and in those of my colleagues the spring market is here for 2023 BUT for homes that are show ready.
We are literally waiting for more homes to come on the market. We have the buyers ready to go. Interest rates have backed off from their high in the 4th quarter of 2022 inspiriting buyers to get back into the market.
Need to know what to do to get your home show ready? Reach out today and I will send you my resource the top 5 things you should do to get your home ready for sale.