Nobody buys a home between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, right? WRONG!!!
Seller’s often ask our agents if they should take their listings off the market during the holiday season. Nothing happens between now and the end of the year, right? Maybe it’s best to wait for the spring selling season? Not necessarily.
The old answer would have always been “Yes”, take your home off the market or don’t list during the holidays. Home buyers are on vacation, at parties, cooking and spending time with their families, they aren’t out searching for their dream home. But with the internet, smartphones, and tablets that advise isn’t relevant anymore. The home-buying season is now year-round!
Here’s why you should consider listing your home during the holidays:
- Today’s buyers check listings online, literally all day. Serious buyers are always aware of real estate, probably checking multiple listing sites a day. Most hard working serious buyers don’t switch into holiday mode til last minute, they’re checking Zillow and Realtor.com while they wait for the bus, before bed and waiting in line at the DMV.
- Your competition is lighter: Many sellers believe buyers just stop looking come mid-November, so sellers who have had their homes on the market for a few months, like to take them off now to give the listing a “rest”. This makes inventory tight this time of year, there’s less competition our their for sellers and when buyers are out there looking, they’re wishing there were more properties to see! If you have been considering selling, are motivated and are flexible with time, consider putting your home on the market after Thanksgiving. There’s still several weeks to get buyer’s into your home before the end of the year. The buyers who are watching the market, they see homes disappear at this time, so they will be excited to see something new.
- Update your slow mover: If your property has been on the market for months, most buyers an their agents will assume it’s stale or overpriced. It’s time to take action, the year-end holidays can be a great opportunity to start updating and fixing those problems that might be making your home stay on the market. If you received lower offers in the beginning but weren’t ready to settle, ask your Realtor to ask for feedback from the buyers who saw your home. If you know the issues that buyers are seeing with your home, now is a good time to start fixing. Motivated buyer’s, desperate for inventory will notice and take a look.