The Holiday Season Is Here… To Sell Your Home Or Not?

With the holiday season upon us, is it a good idea to list your home for sale or to take your home off the market? “Conventional” wisdom would say not to list and to take your home off the market. Put “conventional” wisdom aside and discover all these nine good reasons to list your home during the holiday season or keep it on the market if it’s already listed for sale.

 

 

9 Reasons To List Your Home During The Holiday Season

 

Every year there are home owners who decide to wait till after the holidays to list their homes for sale; or to wait until the spring. And there are home sellers who decide to take their homes off the market until after the holidays. But before you make a decision to not sell during the holiday season, consider these 9 good reasons why you shouldn’t shy away from listing your home during the holiday season… or to take your home off the market if it’s already listed for sale.

 

 

 

Reason #1. Less Competition For Buyers

 

Because so many home owners do wait to list until after the holiday season, your home competes with fewer listings for the buyers who are out looking for a home during December. Because buyers have fewer homes to choose from, your home has a better chance of selling quickly.

 

Reason #2. Holiday Buyers Are Serious Buyers

 

Think about it… would you rather be enjoying holiday events and shopping or shopping for a home? Buyers who are out shopping during the holiday season are serious buyers. Most likely they “need” to purchase a home as opposed to “want” to buy a home. These buyers are often buyers with deadlines for moving into a new home and don’t have the luxury of waiting for the spring market. They need to make that home buying decision sooner rather than later. So while you may have fewer buyers come to look at your home during the holiday reason, the ones that do will be more highly motivated and not “looky-loos,” who are “just checking out” the market.

 

Reason #3. Your Home Might Sell More Quickly & For More Money

 

As with any product or commodity, real estate is all about supply and demand… if there is less supply of homes for sale, demand will cause homes to sell more quickly and often for more money. Those serious/motivated buyers are more likely to make quick offers because they have moving deadlines facing them. And since the supply of homes for sale is likely to increase after the holidays, you can expect less demand for your home at that point in time, since the supply of buyers most likely will not increase until spring. The chart below illustrates this perfectly. The lowest inventory levels are in the month of December and begin rising come January.

 

Reason #4. January Is A Huge Month For Moving

 

Did you know that January is traditionally the single, biggest moving month each year? More people move during the month of January versus the months of summer. People who need to move in January because of relocations, school calendars, etc. need to find a home to buy in December, right in the middle of the holiday season. That’s a major reason why your home should be on the market in December! Putting your home on the market in January is too late to capture these buyers.

 

Reason #5. Corporate Transfers Often Begin Early In The Year

 

Corporations transfer people at the start of year (in many cases just after the end of their most recent fiscal year). Corporate transferees often don’t have the luxury of waiting until spring to buy a home. While many companies do provide temporary housing for their transferees,  these days they are not as generous as in the past as to how long they provide it. These relocating buyers have a deadline to meet in terms of a purchase. To capture this market, your home needs to be on the market now!

And don’t overlook the fact that corporate transferees are typically highly qualified financially to buy.

 

Reason #6. The Emotional Factor

 

Let’s face it… houses often show “better” when decorated for the holidays, as do neighborhoods. The emotional response by buyers to feelings associated with the holiday spirit cannot be discounted. There’s an expression that the “eye buys.” And it’s true. There’s also the expression that “people buy on emotion and back up that decision with logic.” This is also true. And it’s never as true as during the festive holiday season. Buyers can often be more emotional in their responses to homes during the holiday season and that emotion will come into play when it comes to paying a premium price for their new home.

 

Reason #7. Leftover Spring/Summer Buyers

 

Not every buyer who started looking for a home in the spring and summer found their “dream” home during those months. Many lost out on homes they were interested in because of bidding wars in limited inventory markets during the spring/summer selling season. Many of these buyers have not lost their desire to purchase are still out there hoping to buy a home this year. This is your chance to “capture” them.

 

Reason #8. Financial Considerations

 

With interest rates rising throughout the course of this past year and anticipated to increase again, there are buyers in the market who want to lock in their cost of housing sooner rather than later.

Then, there are those buyers who need to make a purchase by year’s end for tax reasons.

 

Reason #9. Demand For Housing Might Soften In The New Year

 

With continually increasing home prices and interest rates, more buyers are being priced out of the market. If these trends continue into the spring selling season and buyer demand levels off, you might actually get less for your home than if you sold this year. It might take longer to sell your home and we know that the longer a home sits on the market, the less it sells for. As already noted, it is all about supply and demand.

 

Find Out What Your Charlotte Area Home Is Worth

 

Wondering what your Charlotte area home is worth in today’s market? Find out by clicking on the picture below.

Contact us if you’d like to receive our Neighborhood Analyzer Report on a monthly basis so you can keep track of home sales activity in your neighborhood.

We’re happy to provide this information with no obligation on your part.

 

Selling A Home? The Right Broker Makes All The Difference!

 

 

If you’re considering selling your Charlotte metro area home this holiday season or after, I’d love an opportunity to earn your business, to exceed your expectations, and to show you how:

 “The Right Broker Makes All The Difference.”

 

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