The sudden introduction of “chatbots” and the data-based Artificial Intelligence they now offer the world has many unexplored applications, including residential real estate. One could be the ever-current debate about when is the most propitious time to list a house. The best Fishers Realtors® traditionally differ on precisely when that is—but they would be unanimous in how they qualify their answers. Aside from the advantage gained by listing in the active spring-to-summer markets, the quality of a property and its asking price compared with neighborhood comparables are much more important. But “spring-to-summer” has always been a pretty vague answer. Wouldn’t more precision be possible, now that AI is coming of age?
One problem with nailing down a single date is the influence that surrounding circumstances have. That was amply illustrated in recent years as the Covid pandemic threw every norm thoroughly off-kilter. This year seems to be a variation on that phenomenon given the combination of a dicey economic outlook and the perception of high mortgage interest rates (they’re actually about average, but the public perception is otherwise).
So this could be an opportune time to have Artificial Intelligence weigh in on when is the best time to sell a house. Even if the best Fishers Realtors don’t agree, surely if there is a hard data-based solution to that eternal query, ChatbotGPT.com could now formulate the true answer, no?
Perhaps the question was posed on an off day when the chatbot was feeling a lack of confidence, but its written answer proved to be less than satisfying. In fact, it sounded awfully familiar: the long and short of it being that there isn’t a specific day that can be considered the best day to sell a house, other than generally during spring and summer, “the most active months.” Chatbot’s further elaboration wasn’t much more satisfying—you shouldn’t list on major holidays, or on election day. The best Fishers Realtors wouldn’t argue about that.
The best time to list your house is when it and its owner have investigated the market and prepared for a swift sale, assisted by a reputable local agent. Chatbot did mention that, too—another good reason to give us an early call!
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