What is the average time homes are on the market in your area? Timing is very difficult to do, we've been there and sold our house so quickly that we did have to move into temporary housing for 3 months until our home was finished. Since you have the luxury of not having to carry two mortgages, I'd wait til March to list the home, in the event that your home sells quickly, you may find a buyer that will let you back the house for two or three months, but pushing it out to six months if your house sells quickly would most likely be a deal breaker for people.

I'd wait until spring to list the house. The market is likely to be slow through the holidays and probably will be slow through the winter in a cold climate. The pool, even if not yet open for the season, is more likely to appeal in spring than winter. Furthermore, you will have a better idea when the new home may be ready for you.

In the meanwhile, you can interview agents and prep the home for the market. If you are up for it, you could also consider doing some FSBO advertising during the winter, just in case your perfect buyer is actively looking.

We listed ours at the drywall stage of the new one (end of September with end of December completion). Got a buyer in a week, lost them after a month, got another one after a weekend on the market, just went through inspection, new settlement is supposed to be mid-January if all goes well. I would interview realtors and find out average days on market and use that. If a brisk market, with your good financial position, no reason not to wait until spring that I know of.

Where in the Northeast are you? I am originally from Pennsylvania myself. If I were you, I would wait until march/april. It depends on what price you are thinking of listing it at as well. Do you know of any comparable homes on the market right now? Any current sales? Once you figure out those, you can figure out the average amount of time it will take for your home to sell. Once you get the average, I would add an additional two weeks. This should give you an idea of when to market your home.

thanks :)

I'm in PA. Houses here are hit or miss right now. Things over $300K are taking a bit longer than they usually do. Currently there are no other houses in our price range on the market (thinking $275K range) in our school district.

I might consider waiting until May when the pool is open.

It is always a little harder to sell a more expensive home. I would definitely wait to see how the new year changes things. I am hoping to see some changes in the market by February. Hopefully things will pick back up there as well. April would probably be a good time. Families with children will have spring break to look at homes.

Don't wait until May. Nationally, April is the most active month for home sales. I agree with the posters who suggest March, even if the pool is covered with snow.

And bear in mind (particularly if there are unique features about your house) that someone may want to buy it faster than you expect. Don't list unless you are prepared for the possibility that it will sell immediately. We are closing this week on our purchase of a house where we jumped on the listing as soon as we saw it, making an offer a week after listing. This is in an area where houses can often take months or even a year to sell. I think that the seller was shocked to have an offer so soon. It was a corporate relocation so i think the relo company was going to buy it in a couple of months anyway. But, I think the seller expected that to be in the house until the end of the year.

This would be a great time to go through your old photographs (before they're all packed up), and pull out some great shots of the yard in bloom and everyone enjoying the pool.Make copies to have available for serious buyers. Pictures of summer are magic--worth more than a thousand words!

I agree that you shouldn't market until you're ready for the house to sell. In the past year, we've had 3 sets fo friends who were displaced while waiting for their new homes to be finished. The hassle and disruption is terrible, and you don't have a pressing need for the money.

A realtor here in the DC area once told me that the market begins to become more active (more sellers/lookers/potential buyers) the weekend *after* SuperBowl Sunday. The holidays are an extremely slow time for home sales (so she said) and January is "holiday recovery" time for some people. Accurate? I don't know. But I have noticed that the real estate listings in the Washington Post get more extensive after the SuperBowl. Perhaps a realtor in your area can advise on the market pace where you are?

I don't know if anyone mentioned this, but I have a feeling your new home may not be ready on schedule. You may not be able to move in for months after the projected date. Just something to consider and keep on top of.

thanks! We're leaning towards a March listing (yet noting that closing would be after June 30th or something).

If you list in March (as an example) and actually sell it, you could have issues delaying the closing until June/July. If it is still on the market come June/July, it was priced too high. I would hold off until you can move within 1 month. Depending on the house you are building, that would probably be the trim stage. I also wouldn't count on the new house being ready on time. New construction is rarely done on time unless it is spec or tract construction (not custom or semi custom).

It is now December, so if you are building a new house it is too late to start for a winter build. Depending on where you are in the Northeast, you would start in March or later. In my area you can't start new construction until mid-April because roads are closed to cement trucks and excavation equipment (they damage the roads as the frost is thawing out). Let's say you dig in March and pour the foundation late March. A July move-in would give you a 3-4 month build. That is pretty fast.

WE are in exactly the same postition as you and trying to decide when to market. We have talked to one realtor and she said that things pick up right after Christmas and she recommended January. WE are in Pa so we are not sure if that is really true or not.

We also live in PA and our realtor has told us that things pick up right after Christmas. If your area's average DOM is anything like ours,I would not wait until March to list the house. You can always negotiate closing after you find a buyer. Don't assume you'll find a buyer quickly. The sooner you get to market the sooner you can get a buyer and begin negotiations. I just purchased a house that had been on the market for over 5 months.