Snow doesn’t seem to help real estate in the DC Metro area

Snow doesn’t seem to help real estate in the DC Metro area

Some areas seem to be better prepared for winter Weather.  These could be areas like Buffalo, New York or maybe Green Bay, Wisconsin.  The Washington DC Metro area (including Maryland and Northern Virginia) is not like those areas.  Snow has a major impact.  And it’s impact has been felt this 1st quarter of 2015.

The Real Estate Market in the DC Metro area is one area the effects of snow are very apparent.

When I decided to write about this topic I didn’t do a bunch of research on data to back this up.  Because all of that data would be lagging indicators that we won’t be able to have or account for until the month and quarter are over.

But what’s obvious is that snow has caused many things in the region.  Some examples are =
– unsafe driving conditions
– school closures
– affected people’s ability to get to work
– caused damage to homes
– made it hard or impossible to traverse roads and sidewalks
– trapped people’s cars on the side of the road
– etc. and so much more

When these things happen in the DC Metro region people tend to hole up in their homes.  And when they do that, they’re not going looking at other homes.  They’re not writing offers to buy homes, they’re not doing home inspections on homes, and they’re not thinking about putting their home on the market that day (or at least until the snow is gone).  Real Estate is changed and delayed by the snow.  We could say that onset of the spring real estate market in Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC is delayed by the snow.

And who can you blame for that .  No one.  You’ve got to be safe.  Shoot, on some of those snow days they canceled thousands of flights from local airports.  Better safe than sorry.  Same is said for house hunting during the winter.  Buyers are happy to wait until after they’re not afraid of falling because of ice they can’t see under the snow.  Because it’s more than just snow.  The negative effects are multiplied when the temperatures either stay below freezing, or drop even more.  And we did have some single digit temperatures in the very recent past.  And don’t even talk about wind chill.  When people can’f feel they’re face in this area, they’re not thinking about buying or selling real estate.

The impact of snow and the winter weather has been severe this winter.  And the DC Metro real estate market has not been immune to these effects.  If people can’t even drive, they’re not going to go see homes to buy.  If they have to change their work schedule to find a way to care for the kids, then they’re not going to allow showings in their home.  It is a massive ripple effect.

The industry is somewhat seasonal as it is, simply because of cold and holidays, and other things.  But this weather has only exaggerated those natural patterns.

So this Realtor, and Washington DC Metro resident, is grateful that the snow is gone.

Some pictures of some of our recent winter weather in Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC.