We’ve all heard how crazy the real estate market is these days, and who even wants to try to deal with that chaos?  Should you just wait until things slow down later this year?

The 2017 West County is looking a lot like 2016 did, so I did some research on inventory and prices for 2016 summer season vs fall season.  If the current trends continue, I would imagine we should be pretty aligned with last year.  

The peak months (May - August) saw 1,679 homes sell, and houses sold for about 98.07% of what they were currently listed at.

The rest of the year (September - December) saw 1,203 homes sell, and houses sold for about 97.37% of what they were currently listed at.

The biggest takeaway here is the amount of houses for sale in summer vs fall.  The last four months of 2016 saw a 28% drop in inventory.  That big of a drop can be detrimental, considering inventory is already so low in general.  

Of course, if you do wait until fall, you may be able to get a little better deal on a house.  Houses sold for slightly less than current list price in the fall as compared to summer time.  A whopping .0.7%.  How does this add up?  On a $300,000 house, this could save you $2,100.

My advice?  Don’t wait.  Let's go see some houses!  

- By Danielle Hubert