Selling During the Holidays Can be a Warm Experience

One advantage of selling a home during the winter holidays is that homeowners with their property on the market are mostly dealing only with serious prospects. “Typically, it’s relocation buyers or people who have to complete some sort of tax sale or purchase before the end of the year,” says Richard Daskam, with Keller Williams Realty. “For the sellers, they don’t have a lot of looky-loo buyers, and typically they don’t have low-ball offers coming in. It’s realistic offers.” Daskam and others offer several reasons for telling a client to list during the holidays. Besides the fact that people who look for a home during the holidays are more serious buyers, they have fewer houses to choose from during the holidays, and less competition means more money for the seller. Because the supply of listings will increase dramatically in January, there will be less demand for a particular home. Houses often show better when decorated for the holidays, and buyers are more emotional during the holidays, so they are more likely to pay the seller’s price. Buyers also have more time to look for a home during the holidays on weekdays. Some people must buy before the end of the year for tax reasons, and January is traditionally the month for employees to begin new jobs, so transferees cannot wait until spring to buy. | Read More