Do More Homes Sell During the St. George Parade of Homes?

Want to see which St. George area homes are currently for sale? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You can always call us at (435) 215-4533 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.​

Recently, I've been asked repeatedly whether more homes sell during the St. George Parade of Homes. Ok, we’re actually getting this question around EVERY Parade of homes, not just recently. Let’s take a look at what the numbers tell us. And the numbers never lie. 

During parade season, people from Southern Idaho and Northern Utah flee the inversions to capture the beautiful 60-70 degree weather in St. George. Over Presidents' Day weekend, soccer and softball tournaments overrun the area, and people from up north come to enjoy our community. If you were around, you saw that the town was absolutely BOMBED. I tried to just stay at home at not get involved in St. George’s version of “traffic.”

And every year about this time, homeowners in our area pull their dusty For Sale By Owner signs out of storage under the assumption that they'll be able to sell their home during the parade and many assume they can do so for more than it's worth. Why not? A bazillion people in town looking at homes, why wouldn’t it help?

But is this line of thinking true?

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE to see the actual REAL DATA about St. George home sales between the months of February and March in recent years.

NOTE: You’ll see that we used numbers from 2010-2012. That’s because:

• We actually completed this analysis back then!
• We don’t have enough data for 2015 yet.

But guess what? Trends are trends.

CONCLUSION? The Parade of Homes does not cause more homes to sell immediately in Washington County, but is probably the impetus for many home sales several months to several years later.

HOW CAN WE PROVE IT? We look at how many St. George homes sell directly AFTER the parade.

People who visit the area in mid-February and find a home they’d like to purchase can’t realistically close until March, more likely April.

Here’s a look at percentage INCREASE or DECREASE in home sales in Washington County in the 2 months after the Parade.

• 2010: +9%
• 2011: -1%
• 2012: -8%

No compelling case that a huge increase happens after. It even went DOWN 2 of those years!

My conclusion? The Parade of Homes does not cause more homes to sell immediately in Washington County. It's a beautiful marketing pitch, as it showcases the kind of homes we have here, what the builders are capable of, and why they should move here. 

If you have any questions about selling your home during the Spring season in St. George, or if you’d just like to chat about how amazing this area is, don't hesitate to give me a call or shoot me a quick email. I would love to hear from you! 

Is It Possible to Predict the Future of the Real Estate Market?

Want to see which St. George area homes are currently for sale? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You can always call us at (435) 215-4533 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.​

  

Is It Possible to Predict the Future of the Real Estate Market? 

As always, we're here to give you some quick tips to help you make informed decisions in the St. George marketplace. Today, we share 3 tips to help you make accurate real estate predictions in our area.

1. You can't (technically) predict the market!! Wait...what? It's true, there is no crystal ball you can look into and get all the answers about a given market. Markets are inherently unpredictable, but there are certain things you can look at to get a general idea of how things will shape up.

2. Follow affordability trends. When the housing market gets really affordable, it's going to crank up. When it hits an affordability ceiling, you'll see market activity crank down. If this happens, you'll either see prices fall off or sales slow. TIP: Affordability is suffering again in Washington County, so watch that closely.

3. Follow people who study real estate FOR A LIVING! Follow the Warren Buffets and Donald Trumps of the world, and read about entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And yes, you should follow us and our blog, radio shows, etc! After helping families buy and sell over 600 homes, (nearly 100x what the average homeowner will do on their own), it’s quite possible that we have some pretty darn solid perspective on where the St. George Real Estate market is going! 

Specifically, If you want to hear our take on where the St. George market is heading, check us out on KDXU 890 AM radio Thursdays at 8:30 AM. You can hear myself and Mike McGary talk about what's happening in our market, trends we're seeing, and other data to help you make informed buying and selling decisions!

If you have any questions, or would like real estate assistance of any kind, we're always available via phone or email, and we would love to hear from you! Thanks, and remember: We know this town!