Wondering “Is it a good time to sell my house?” Any season is a great season to make money by selling your lake house in Southwest Michigan. However, you may be wondering if there’s a sweet spot when the sweetest offers come in. The “conventional wisdom” shared by everyone, from real estate experts to your opinionated aunt, regarding best time to sell your house doesn’t necessarily apply when selling a lake property. Why? The simple answer is that lake buyers represent a different breed of buyer.
Serious lake buyers are looking all year for great homes. They’re patient because they know what they want. Once a serious buyer sees what they want, they quickly become impatient about making an offer regardless of the time of year because they are making a strategic purchase. Where does this leave lake sellers? The truth is that some common suggestions certainly do work when selling a lake home. However, many of the time crunches and limitations that drive landlocked sellers to limit market entry to specific times of the year aren’t necessarily as powerful. Take a minute to break down the best time to sell your Michigan lake house season by season.
Selling Your Michigan Lake House in the Winter and Spring
Can it be done? Absolutely. However, it’s often smart to aim to get a winter listing done for a closing before the end of spring. In fact, it’s highly recommended to get poised for a sale before the end of April.
Winter shoppers are often the most serious of all buyers because they are already looking ahead to where they want to be in the summer. They often start searching right after the holidays to begin collecting properties to consider before the spring buyers get interested. Most have some pretty concrete dates in their minds regarding when they’d like to be settled in at a new lake house. As you can probably guess, those dates coincide with the big summer holidays that are best spent by a lake!
Lake buyers are really motivated to get into their new homes by May. They want to spend Memorial Day relaxing or entertaining at their lovely new lake homes. For buyers who can’t get to closing before May, it’s often very important to get in a home before the period from the middle of June through the first week of July.
Selling Your Michigan Lake House in the Summer
While the rest of the market tends to power through the hot summer months, the lake market sees something of a lull. This really has to do with the fact that lake buyers are often motivated to get into their homes by the summer season. They buy with the intention of getting into a lake house for fun summertime activities. What’s more, buyers who don’t pounce by spring are often too wrapped up in vacations, summer activities, and keeping the kids and grandkids entertained during school break to devote time to a home search. That doesn’t mean that lake houses don’t sell in the summer. After all, lake buyers are envisioning themselves in their new properties for many summers to come. Those who are willing to take their time are more than happy to make offers after the Fourth of July fireworks have faded.
Selling Your Michigan Lake House in the Fall
Is an autumn sale likely when you’re selling a lake house? Many of the buyers who didn’t show up for summer past Memorial Day make an appearance in the fall. Fall can be a great time to get the attention of buyers who feel inspired to make a move on a lake house after a summer of renting or visiting a place with a taste of the lake life. Many are also attracted to the idea of getting a good deal now that the summer buying fever has settled a bit. While summer buyers are motivated to get in before the big summer holidays, fall buyers are often motivated to find a cozy place by the water to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year with their friends and family. They want to be able to have everyone over for a “lodge holiday” by the water, even if swimming may not be on the menu in the brisk temperatures.
Choosing the Perfect Time to Sell Your Michigan Lake House
Every season represents a season of opportunity if you’re ready to find buyers for your Michigan Lake House. Serious lake buyers have reasons to make offers throughout the year because they are focused on getting into the home they’ve been dreaming of instead of obsessing over a date. However, certain seasonal motivations can help bring out buyers during peak offer times throughout the year. Here’s the roundup of what every season has to offer for sellers:
- Winter: Winter is a phenomenal time to attract serious buyers. Winter buyers are often extremely prepared to make offers because they aren’t shopping on a whim. They also want to get a head start against the buyers popping up in the spring to snag homes for the upcoming summer.
- Spring: Spring is a very good time to list because this is when you’re getting the largest pool of buyers. Everyone is eager to get a place where they can ring in the summer fireworks season!
- Summer: Summer does tend to slow down once buyers realize they won’t be able to get settled in time to enjoy a new house during the current summer season. Listing before July 4 is smart when possible!
- Fall: Buyers who didn’t buy during the summer are often eager to ensure they don’t miss another summer at the lake. There’s also a separate pool of buyers ready to settle in before the winter holidays because they want to host cozy gatherings.
Do you have questions about the best time to sell your house? Bring them to the lake experts. Reach out today! Lakes & Country Real Estate specializes in listing lake houses throughout Southwest Michigan.
Are you ready to list your Michigan lake home? Get in touch with one of our agents.