When you think of Superbowl Sunday, you probably have visions of two football teams in hot pursuit of a national title. I’m sure you also conger up the million dollar commercials that often bring more excitement than the game; and perhaps some thought goes to the fun food that is consumed during the game – hot wings, chili, beer..whatever. Of course, you say, what else would come to mind when you think of Superbowl? The answer, my friends, is that I think of the spring real estate market!!

Montgomery County MD and Washington DC Real Estate waits for The Super Bowl?

Okay…now I have to explain. In the Washington, D.C. area we can, in my opinion, define our spring market (and every seller wants to sell in the “spring” market) as from Super Bowl Sunday ‘til Mother’s Day. Don’t ask me why…it’s one of those things that just is. It’s clear from the statistics and from the activity level in the market that this is how the dc real estate market functions.

I have some guesses about why this is…and, thanks for asking, I’ll share them. For me, it seems that the phone starts ringing right at the beginning of every New Year and the calls are coming from people who want to buy and/or sell. My theory is that people spend a lot of time in their homes over the holidays and, when the humble abode no longer works (either too big or too small), they are more likely to feel it after having been confined during this time. So, as soon as the holiday decorations are put away, they make a call to their favorite real estate agent. If they’re buyers, they’re probably only a week or two away from being in a position to begin their hunt. For sellers, we often have a short period of “get the house in showing order” time (something that’s become even more important as the market has shifted in the favor of buyers).

Although sellers, in the Washington Metropolitan Area, have what I call a “cherry blossom mentality” or an “azalea mentality” (i.e., they think they should wait to market their homes ‘til the cherry blossoms or the azaleas are in bloom), buyers are actually out there looking by the end of January or early February (SUPERBOWL!). Sellers with knowledgeable real estate agents gets their properties on as early as possible, while others still hold off for the flowering trees and plants. By the time some of these sellers catch on, the majority of the buyers have chosen a property (they want to get established before the school year starts in the fall or they want to go away on a summer vacation), so the market slows again when demand decreases as inventory has increased (MOTHER’S DAY!).

So, enjoy the game, adore the commercials and don’t overeat!!! To the dismay of my friends who are true Patriot fans, I’ll be thinking about real estate.