There are many good reasons not to wait until spring to sell your home. Selling your home during the holidays offers several advantages. Let’s talk about what might work best for you!
1. Whose home doesn’t look it’s best during the holidays?
You’ve taken the time to decorate your home to look it’s best, and that makes it beautiful, inviting, and memorable for potential buyers. Showing them your home in it’s best light helps them to envision it as their home! They can imagine making memories around the holidays more easily if they experience yours being created.
2. People who look for homes during the holidays are serious and ready to buy now.
If they are taking time to shop for a home during the holidays, they aren’t just window shopping! They may have a relocation coming up and are taking the extra vacation days available to them to travel here to find a home. They may need to move at the first of the year, or they want to start out 2020 having everything in order. It could be tax-related as well. There are a variety of reasons they are looking now, but very few people will brave the weather and take time away from the time with family at the holidays to shop for a home if they are not serious.
3. More homes are listed in January
Because they don’t want to be bothered during the holidays, many people will wait to list until January, or temporarily suspend their listing until then. Corporate relocations often happen in January, meaning that we see an increase in the number of listings in January as well. Buyers who are looking now don’t have access to all of the homes that will be available in a month – but they will have access to yours. Take advantage of having less competition and list your home before your neighbors do.
4. You won’t have to move until the New Year.
While it can still happen at this point, most people will not be able to get their financing secured and be able to close and move in within the 20 days we have left before Christmas unless they already have everything completed for their financing. While a closing and move could happen in the week between Christmas and New Years, it would still be a bit challenging. Most people will want to take that week to pack everything up and prepare to move – and you can too!
5. Fewer Competitors
While we will see a small influx in January, most of the homes coming available in the new year will start to hit the market around March or April. Listing your home now will give you the advantage of having less competition, and will also mean that when you look for a new home, you will have fewer other buyers to compete with as well!
If you aren’t quite ready to put it on the market, but are thinking about doing so in the next 10-12 months, take a few good photos while it is decorated! This way you can show buyers what your home looks like during the different seasons. Take a couple of exteriors the morning after a fresh snowfall, and some gorgeous interior shots with your decorations.
If you are ready to list your home, give us a call to schedule your listing appointment! We would love to help you make a fresh start in a new home for 2020!
