The Sue Adler Team Predicts An Early Spring — Will the Groundhog Agree?

When the groundhog creeps out of his nice warm burrow tomorrow, we here at the Sue Adler Team are pretty sure he will not see his shadow and then pop back inside to sleep for another 6 weeks. We think he’ll stay outside and celebrate an early spring for 2017. And even if he doesn’t, we’ll be doing just that!!

Spring has certainly come early for our local real estate market. With a record number of showings on our 6 new listings this past weekend (one hitting a record 91 parties through a Sunday open house), and multiple offers piling up for our clients, we have undeniable proof that Spring has sprung!!

While we won’t know until tomorrow if good old Punxsutawney Phil, the most notorious of all the groundhogs, predicts an early spring for weather enthusiasts and our housing market, there are some interesting “real estate-related” facts that we bet you didn’t know regarding the groundhog.

It turns out the humble groundhog is a dedicated builder, digging a burrow that is anywhere from 8-66 feet long, featuring multiple exits and any number of separate chambers or “rooms.” According to groundhog researcher Stam Zervanos, retired professor of biology at Pennsylvania State University in Reading, they can build multi-level burrows. He says, “They have a burrow for hibernating, and then they have another section of the burrow that’s more like their summer home where they can come out more easily.” Apparently, they even create separate chambers to be used as bathrooms, and in some cases, they have multiple residences and can move about freely from one home to another.

Secondly, the groundhog, like a realtor, knows the value of location, location, location. They love to build a burrow full of tunnels under farmland, strong enough to break a tractor axle and perfectly situated to help themselves to the most tender, most delicious plantings the farms have to offer.

And finally, like a great realtor, they are masters of timing, which is probably how they’ve become famous as predictors on the length of winter and the arrival of spring. Seems they know exactly when to emerge from a long winter’s hibernation in order to ensure that mating (a little nod to February’s loveliest holiday—Valentine’s Day) produces offspring at a time that promises the best chance of survival for their offspring. According to Zervanos, the mating period only lasts about 10 days and the consequences of bad timing results in either the female not being able to provide enough food if born too early or not enough time to gain a healthy amount of weight for the next winter if born too late. With such a small window of opportunity, timing is certainly everything!

Here at the Sue Adler Team, we are experts at knowing the best homes and the best locations for our clients, and we are the skilled in predicting the timing of the market year after year to best serve our buyers and sellers. We know that now is the best time to get the jump on the “traditional” spring market. Homes are being listed, shown and sold now, so why wait? If you are in the “thinking of moving” stage of the home buying and selling process, let’s talk. Give us a call at 973.936.9129 or email us at [email protected]. We are here to assist you with all of your real estate needs, start to finish – we are yours to count on!