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Buying or Selling a Home Over the Holidays? Who Benefits More?


When it comes to real estate, the ideal time to sell your home often falls in the spring months.


After all, many people hunker down during the winter months or are too busy with the holidays to think about purchasing a new home. Also, people like to start shopping in the spring to make sure they are settled in their homes before the start of a new school year.


Putting a home on the market shortly after a major holiday can be a wiser decision that it would appear. It can actually be beneficial to list in a month like January because there will be less inventory to share the limelight and the listing may get much more market attention.

Why Christmas can be a better time to buy*

Shopping for a home during the winter, and especially during the holidays, offers the following advantages:


1. Homes are priced to sell

Most of the houses you’ll find on the market during the late fall and early winter will be holdovers from the spring and summer season. At this point, homeowners may be desperate to sell and get their property off their hands.


Alternatively, the houses may have just been put on the market because of the owner’s sudden and urgent need to relocate due to unforeseen factors like a job change, divorce or another life-altering event. In either case, the owner is looking to sell quickly, and will likely be more willing to compromise on their original asking price than homeowners selling in the spring and summer. In fact, according to The Wall Street Journal, home prices can drop to a 12-month low in December.


2. Holiday spirit makes people more agreeable

People tend to be in a more generous frame of mind around the holidays. Let this factor work in your favor by shopping for a home during the holiday season. You can walk away with a dream home at a dream price, and you may even be able to negotiate some extras, like furniture or a fresh coat of paint, into the selling price.


3. Fewer buyers on the market

With more people looking to relocate during the spring and summer months, you’ll have less competition when house hunting around Christmas time. This will give you an edge in bidding wars and it will make it easier for you to negotiate to bring down an asking price on a home.


Whether you are buying or selling, the Whit Harvey Team is here to help.

*Source: United Texas Credit Union

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