10 Reasons to Sell your Home during the Holiday Season

When most people think about the holidays, they think about spending time with family, exchanging gifts, and enjoying a delicious feast. What many people don’t think about is using the holiday season as an opportunity to sell their house. Despite what you may have heard, there are many great reasons to sell during the holidays.

Yes, the interest rates have increased over the last year, but better in the last 60 days. For every 1% decrease, there are 5 million more buyers hitting the market.

Based on what’s been happening the last few years and the trends we are seeing right now, we can’t start stressing about what may or may not happen, we can only make a decision based on today. Every indicator tells us that selling during the holidays will net you more on your home than you would if you wait until Spring.

Buyers who are out searching for a home during the holiday season are more serious. They are willing to fight holiday traffic, tight schedules, & even icy conditions in some areas – they mean business.
Less competition. There are fewer homes for sale during the holidays, which means that there is a greater chance of selling quickly, & even getting multiple offers.
Houses show beautifully when decorated for the holidays, when staged well. Buyers coming through will instantly start imagining themselves spending the holidays in your home & making memories with their families.
Emotion: Buyers are emotional by nature & even more connected to their emotions during the holidays when they are desperate to buy. Viewing homes now, especially the decorated ones, brings memories, creates sentimentality & nostalgia. This makes the buyers pay the asking price & even more because of the heartwarming emotions around home ownership & celebrating the holidays.
Buyers tend to have more time off, using end-of-year vacation days & free time during the holidays, which means they can look during the work week rather than be limited to the weekends. When people have more free time, they are less stressed, & when they are less stressed, they are willing to spend more.
There are tax benefits to buying & selling a home before the end of the year. From various mortgage deductions, you can also take advantage of State & Local tax deductions, tax-free profits on the sale of your home, & even home office deductions for those who work remotely.
January is the most common time of the year for people to start new jobs after being transferred, & typically get notice of this transfer in November or December. These buyers have no time to waste, they have a short time frame.
YOU are still in control of your time. Even when you have your home listed for sale, you control showing times to work around your holiday events & life.
Make your moving dates part of your terms. Even if you get an offer, you can have a delayed Closing or extended occupancy to accommodate you into the new year.
Give yourself your best chance at non-contingency. Selling your home now allows you to be a non-contingent buyer in the Spring when most people choose to list their homes, which means you will have a lot of homes to choose from. This gives you your best chance to sell high & buy low!

If you need any help getting started, be sure to contact me for the plan to get your home sold quickly & for top dollar! Karen Daugerdas, Coldwell Banker REALTOR^®, PSA^®, SRES, SFR^®.