Is Winter the Secret Window to Sell Your Southern Suburbs Home?

It can be difficult getting up in the morning this time of year in Cape Town. No natural light penetrates the curtains to warm up the room and help you adjust to the realities of a new day. Your blanket is a soft, warm hug, difficult to break free from, especially when you are greeted by winter's hard, cold breath.

Nope, this time of year is not easy!

And often, in the world of real estate, when we find ourselves here, we hear the same concerns - at this point, they have almost become a cliché: “Winter in Cape Town is not a good time to sell”, “The house is too dark”, “It’s too wet outside, no one is going out to view properties”...

It’s an interesting take and, like with so many things, not necessarily a fully thought-through point of view. So, apart from being in real estate and loving the opportunity to help people make their property dreams a reality, what would actually make winter a good time to move?

The Competition is Hibernating

Well, if you’re thinking it, others are too.

The funny thing about the property market, especially in the Cape, is that it’s very seasonal. So, I guess if we’re going to get to grips with this, then we should understand what drives seasonality. There are two ways this happens:

1. People want the thing during certain months and not other months (demand changes over the year) or,
2. People might still want the thing, but can only get the thing during certain months (supply changes over the year).

As an example, you probably agree that the market for Ice Cream hits its peak in summer (although, for me, Ice Cream is for every day, but that’s a different and probably unsustainable story). Higher demand during hot months makes total sense.

Conversely, oranges grow in winter and, as much as we might want them at other times, we end up eating more of them from May through to September because that’s when we get the supply.

How does this link back to property? Or, perhaps a better question, is property Ice Cream (yes, Ice Cream must always be capitalised) or oranges?

Well, the thing is, buyers don’t just disappear when the weather changes. In my experience, and the experience of those I work with, it’s usually homeowners who decide not to make a move in winter. In other words, it’s oranges.

Now, there may be many good reasons to wait before making a move, but the time of year or the season probably shouldn’t be one of them. An easy thing to say, but is there any truth to this?

To get a better sense of how this might play out, we need to understand a few things about the dynamics of the property market. When you decide to sell a property and list it on the open market, other properties that are also listed at the same time are your competition. Make no mistake, buyers are looking at all the properties to find the ones that tick the most boxes at the best price. If there are more listings - more competition - then there is more opportunity for the buyer to find another option. Because they are looking at more, the process tends to take longer. And, when there is competition for someone's attention, often the winner of that attention offers more value, usually impacting price.

To test this, all you need to do is go and take a look at the properties on the market right now in Claremont. What is available in your price bracket?

You’ll probably find that it is far less than six months ago, in the middle of summer. So, as someone thinking of selling, by waiting for better, longer, warmer days, you are potentially putting yourself up against far stiffer competition and therefore losing some of your negotiating power.

Timing Matters

Time is important to us all, no more so than when it comes to making a move. Property moves are stressful, and you want to get it right. Often, people look to be in a new home before the summer holidays and festive season, or before the new year, when they start preparing kids for school and, in some cases, they also want to leave themselves time to prepare the house, do a little work, make it their own.

Knowing this seems trivial but it’s quite important when you think about the time a house actually takes to sell. Once a sale is agreed between a buyer and a seller, it can take up to around 3 months for the property to transfer to the new owner. But that isn’t the only timing that matters. A house is usually on the market for 2 - 4 weeks in Claremont, and sometimes longer in other areas, before an offer to buy it comes in. This means, with the time on market and the time it takes to transfer, it could take around 4 months before someone can move in. Add a month or 2 if they are looking to do renovations or work on the house.

You’ve probably worked this out already, but anyone looking to be in a new house by the end of November would be looking at properties through the winter period and, more importantly, looking to put in an offer by the end of July or August.

My House has “The Feels”

Let us take another look at those clichés. You might have picked up, the thing I hear most often is how sad a house looks in winter. Everything is dark. The garden is waterlogged. Spaces feel a little more cluttered. You know, as I sit here and type this in my relatively dark, cool room, I too have “The Feels”. I totally get it!

And maybe we also don’t venture out as much as we would in summer and our house becomes more of a sanctuary. A place that we definitely don’t want disturbed by the hustle and bustle that a move can create.

This question is, is your goal and your dream of that big, beautiful house enough to make the move happen now despite all this or do other things need to fall into place first?

Once you have your answer here, then the rest becomes easy. That is…until you turn around and see your house with “The Feels”. So let's take a moment and understand whether these “The Feels” are a good or a bad thing.

When I’m talking to someone buying a house, the phrase I hear most often is, “It needs to feel right” or “When I walk into a place and I feel it, I’ll know”. It’s an intangible thing about a space that resonates with an individual person on an emotional level that is really, really difficult to define. As someone in the business of real estate, I hear people tell me what they are looking for but when I take them to a house that matches what they told me, their emotional response to the rooms, the space, the garden gives a far deeper understanding of what their next property looks like.

So how can a house, sitting sadly in the Claremont Avenues, under a cloud in the middle of a plot of wet land, create the right kind of “The Feels”? Well, for one thing, that plot of wet land might be moist, wet or a lake depending on the day, but the lawn and garden will be beautifully green. If you have evergreen trees and other plants, those will add layers while trees that have lost their leaves create texture, let in light and create their own romantic ambience.

Now, weather is a problem, but not consistently a problem. There may need to be a little more flexibility to hit those wonderfully bright and clear winter days - and when you hit them, it’s an incredible contrast against the colder, darker, wetter ones giving the perfect opportunity to showcase a house to people who are positively happy with their change in fortunes.

But it’s inside where things get really interesting. Stepping into a house that is warmly lit and toasty is almost always inviting. There is an almost instant feeling of welcoming homeliness. And this is where a house really starts to get “The Feels” right! In summer, you just cannot get the same effect (but I guess there’s always Ice Cream to fill the gap).

There are many ways to take advantage of this season and the home's features and characteristics to turn the dial up to max. The light of day tends to be far softer in winter, meaning outdoor areas and spaces with lots of natural light don’t feel as harsh and are more accommodating. Nowadays, we also see a lot of properties with indoor fireplaces. People love an indoor fireplace! What better time to showcase it?

The Grit is Real

And then there are the actual people making appointments, driving around, braving it all to go out and find a home. These are our brave buyers.

Now, make no mistake, buying a property under any circumstances is a huge undertaking, no matter the reason for your move. It is probably one of the biggest investments of someone’s life, that’s a pretty daunting thing to consider. And, when dealing with decisions in life of this magnitude, the weather and time of year usually end up playing a very small part, maybe only adding a background note or two.

As we mentioned before, there is a tendency to stay indoors more during the winter months. And perhaps, while the number of people looking for properties doesn’t change massively over the year, we should take a moment and consider the grit, determination and seriousness with which our winter warriors prowl the streets looking for the right place to warm their souls. These aren’t casual buyers. These are people made of Table Mountain Sandstone and pure willpower who you can take seriously.

And so maybe, winter becomes the best time to deal with a smaller group of people with really positive intent rather than sift through a large pool to find the few who matter.

Ultimately, the best time to sell or make a move is when this decision aligns with your personal and family goals. And if this happens to be during the winter months, don’t let a little rain or cold dampen your mood or set you back. The structure of the market works in your favour and, combined with a solid go-to-market plan, you will have success.

Once the move is made, you can relax and spend the summer months enjoying your new space, being with your people and, hopefully, enjoying an Ice Cream!