We have always known that people take a few months to think about a real estate transaction, so that we need to pay more attention to visitors to our site than someone selling sneakers or office supplies, but we didn't have much empirical evidence to go by. Now we have more.
We track all of the new and returning visitors to our site, as well as all the visitors who click on our website from a search. Although we know that our region is education-driven, and therefore not, in many cases, the usual seasonal pattern found elsewhere, even we were surprised to learn the two-week period in which the greatest number of new visitors appeared. Can you guess?
It was during the last two weeks in January! That means that, despite weather and paying off tax and holiday bills, more people are starting a property search right after the first of the year than at any other time. Our greatest number of clicks from Google last year came in February and March, suggesting that the search for specific properties might be ramping up just after the new visitors started the process.
Since all industry data suggests that most property closes in the late spring and summer, except for a surge in commercial closings at the end of the year, this would suggest that, if you are a seller who wants to have the broadest exposure for your property, you need to list it now! Not next month, not when the days are longer or the weather improves, but now. This is when people want to look at real estate, at least in our region, and we should be giving them what they want, when they want it. Because that's how property gets sold! So act quickly, for maximum results.
