Is Your House the Top Thing on a Buyer’s Wish List this Holiday Season?

This is an important article for people thinking of selling their homes at this time of year.

I always tell prospective sellers that this can be a great time of year to sell in our area.  See my thoughts below and then continue on to the great article from Keeping Current Matters.

1. As noted in #1 below, people who are looking at homes right now are typically serious buyers, as there's too much else going on for folks to check out homes if they're not considering a move.
2. At this time of year, many folks who live in colder areas of the country are visiting friends or family here.  The thought of moving can be pretty appealing when it's snowing and really cold back home.  
3. Many homeowners who consider moving to active adult communities have lived in their current homes for a long time and have built up a large amount of equity.  This could allow them to put down a large down payment if applying for a loan or to pay cash for a home. In a posting I made last month, ARE THERE MORE CASH OR LOAN SALES IN SCCL AND TREE TOPS?, I noted that, at that time, just over half of the last 100 homes sold in SCCL were cash sales.  At that same time, cash sales at TreeTops accounted for just under half of the last 100 sales.  Higher interest rates may not be as much of concern to folks with equity in their current home. 

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Article Courtesy of Keeping Current Matters / The KCM Blog

This time every year, homeowners who are planning to move have a decision to make: sell now or wait until after the holidays? Some sellers with homes already on the market may even remove their listing until the new year.

But the truth is, many buyers want to purchase a home for the holidays, and your house might be just what they’re looking for. As an article from Fortune Builders explains:

“ . . . while a majority of people take a step back from the real estate market during the holiday months, you may find when the temperature drops, your potential for a great real estate deal starts to rise.”

To help prove that point, here are four reasons you shouldn’t wait to sell your house.

1. The desire to own a home doesn’t stop during the holidays. While a few buyers might opt to delay their moving plans until January, others may need to move now because something in their life has changed. The buyers who look for homes at this time of year are usually motivated to make their move happen and are eager to buy. A recent article from Investopedia says:

“Anyone shopping for a new home between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is likely going to be a serious buyer. Putting your home on the market at this time of year and attracting a serious buyer can often result in a quicker sale.”

2. While the supply of homes for sale has increased a little bit lately, overall inventory is still lower than it was before the pandemic. What does that mean for you? If you work with an agent to price your house at market value, it could still sell quickly because today’s buyers are craving more options – and your home may be exactly what they’re searching for.

3. You can determine the days and times that are most convenient for you for home showings. That can help you minimize disruptions to your own schedule, which can be especially important during this busy time of year. Plus, you may find buyers are more flexible on when they’ll tour a house this time of year because they have more time off from work around the holidays.

4. And finally, homes decorated for the holidays appeal to many buyers. For those buyers, it’s easy to picture gathering with their loved ones in the home and making memories of their own. An article on selling at this time of year offers this advice:

“If you’re selling around a holiday and have decorations up, make sure they accent—not overpower—a room. Less is more.”

Bottom Line

There are plenty of good reasons to put your house on the market during the holiday season. Connect with a real estate agent and see if it's the right time for you to sell.