Hope Leitner, Realtor®, CRS

  A lot of people assume spring is the ideal time   to sell   a house. And sure, buyer demand usually picks up at that time of year. But here’s the catch: so does your competition because a lot of people put their homes on the market at the same time. So, what’s the real advantage of  selling your house  before spring? It’ll stand out. Historically, the number of  homes for sale  tends to drop during the cooler months – and that means buyers have fewer options to choose from. You can see how that trend played out over the past few years in  this data  from the  National Association of Realtors  (NAR). Each time, the supply of homes for sale dipped during these cooler months. And then, after each winter lull, inventory started to climb as more sellers jumped into the market closer to spring ( see graph below ): Here’s why knowing how this trend works gives you an edge. While inventory is higher this year than it‘s been in the last fe...

This past weekend half the globe celebrated the Lunar New Year and welcomed the year of the Rabbit. Happy New Year to my friends and clients who are enjoying this beautiful holiday right now.  What the Lunar New Year means for the rest of us, is that it marks the first day when the sun sets after 5pm. The days are now noticeably getting longer and while it may still be chilly for us, pretty soon San Diego's long sunny summer will be here.  February also means that many of us are now gearing up for tax season. As a former accounting professional and a current real estate agent, I am here to help. Feel free to reach out. I'm happy to answer questions or make a good referral if needed.  On the calendar below are so many great events, I'm particularly interested in the chocolate and beer pairings at the Escondido Chocolate Festival, and the celebration of Black Comix Day will be fun to do with my grandkids. Finally, the Bird Friendly Home and Garden Show looks like a g...