Spring market
With birds returning and grass becoming greener, another hint of spring on the horizon could be that your neighbors now have a “for sale” sign in front of their home.
The school year affects when people will sell, said Georgie Smigel of Coldwell Banker Homes in Cranberry Township.
“It all has to do with the school year,” she said. “I think it's a common misconception that it's better to sell in the spring or the summer when it looks prettier, so that's become the norm. Add to that, if you sell your house in March or April and you have children and want you want to move, they're going to be out of school by the time closing occurs.”
School districts are often a consideration for people buying, which makes selling a home in a good school district easier. The time leading up to school being out is the busiest time for buying and selling, Smigel said.
“March, April, May and June are usually the best months,” she said.
Gary Straub, branch manager at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, said local real estate development is booming.
“The future for new construction developments in Butler County, just in general — of course Cranberry has always been a hot market for new construction — but it has spread north, so we see a number of new developments about to come online,” Straub said. “I think it's going to be exciting for the folks up here and for folks to move out of Allegheny County.”
The market this year has, so far, been similar to that of the past two, Smigel said, with “a lack of inventory in this area in the lower-price ranges.”“If you (have) a house under $450,000, there's a lot of buyer interest,” she said. “In real estate, the early bird gets the worm.”The Cranberry and Mars areas are transient, Smigel said, but more people put their houses on the market in the spring than they do during other seasons.Because of the new construction in the Cranberry area, it takes longer to sell a home when it's valued more than $450,000, but Smigel said it depends on the price. Making an educated guess, she said most homes in the area will take less than 60 days to sell, even if they're more than $450,000.Smigel added that she has had three homes at varying prices sell in less than 24 hours during the past 30 days.“Our market is pretty good all the time,” she said.Tax refunds are also a good source for a down payment for first-time buyers, Smigel said.Straub agreed that spring is a hot time for real estate.
“We have all sorts of property available and all categories of buyers,” he said. “First-time buyers, empty nesters — it's unlike many newer markets. If you look toward northern Allegheny County and southern Butler County, you've got a lot of folks who are 'move-up buyers.' Here, we're a little more diverse, and it's what makes this business so interesting up here.”Straub said that one day he could be helping someone buy his or her first home and the next be helping someone retire and sell the family home for something smaller.“It does require that our agents have a kind of wide area of knowledge because you can't handle everyone the same,” he said. “Everyone has their own special needs.”To get ready for the spring market, Smigel said she has people call and ask her to come to their homes to offer tips for getting it ready for the spring.“I'll walk through with them and tell them they need to declutter, sometimes paint,” she said. “The first door is the first impression, so the entry and all that needs to look good. Oftentimes, people want to get their houses on the market now, but it's hard to do yard work with all the snow.”
