is February almost over...??

As I sit here, we all look around at each other and wonder where the month went! MINUS 18  to plus 5 degrees and its hard to believe the spring market is arriving..... and it is!!

Temperatures are freezing but the buyers are surfacing and looking for that perfect property. The major challenge... THERE AREN'T MANY LISTINGS out there to choose from.

ASK ME I KNOW! Yes one more week has come and gone and yes I do not have a new home ..YET!

BUT I have contingencies... and that is often what it is all about when selling your home. This time of year as people begin to think about moving.. sellers ask..."Is this the right time?"

Buyers buy year round but we all talk about the spring market. The market shifts from a buyers to a sellers market when there is lots of properties for sale. Right now? NOT SO MUCH

For those properties that have sat on the market for weeks or months.. right now is a good time to be on the market. ANYONE crossing your threshold at minus 18 degrees.. probably is not "window shopping" They are serious buyers. The amount of "lookers" is less yes but the quality of the buyer can be suburb! New home sites are seeing people coming back in much higher numbers as confidence slowly returns in the buyers soul.

For those of us buyers waiting not so patiently for the specific product we are after.. we KNOW that the market will swing around... it always does. The for sales signs will begin to pop up before the dandelions but for those buyers sitting back waiting.. its a hard wait. Typically, a closing is about 6o days, so having a good storage spot, reliable movers and somewhere to hang your hat in between makes for a contingency. It is a pain to move twice.. BUT to get the right property, to get where you want to go when you want to get there, takes organization, determination.. and oh yes Patience. ... The Patience prayer goes a little like this "Please Lord may I have patience but could I have it right now?!"

This is the market where first time buyers are enticed into the market. Prices edging up even three to five percent a year means that most buyers can't save ahead of the rising prices. Sellers who buy and sell in the same market, well they have lessened the anxiety and for those buying properties yet to be built? They are buying futures.. the belief that in the very near future the price you paid today, pre construction , will be a good price compared to the value when the new property is completed. This year seems to be a somewhat safe bet.

All the ingredients seem to be in the mix! Steady interest rates, increased strength in the job market, slightly elevating prices.... and positive attitudes! NOW if it would just stop snowing .. the SPRING market could actually arrive. Multiple offers are the name of the game right now

YES THIS IS a good time to list and hey dont wait for spring.. everybody else does!!