Over the years that I have been in real estate, what I have found is that most of my clients think that the holidays are the worst time possible to put their home on the market. Although that attitude appears to persist, it is one of the worst real estate myths about the timing of selling your home there are. Sure, everyone looks to the spring market as the end-all-be-all time to sell, but if you discount the holidays, you might be missing out on the very best season to sell!
1. Show me the Money!
Most homeowners sell their houses when the weather outside is warm, hence the spring and summer market. So, most listers assume that you can get the most money for your home in July over December. But that is a misnomer! According to all the statistics available on house purchases, the data shows that it is a huge fallacy. Fewer homes on the market to choose from, along with buyers who are more motivated to pull the gun, means that the price of your house rises during the winter, not lowers. That means if you list during the holidays, you are more likely to get more for your home.
A study done by Redfin showed that, “houses listed from December 21 through March 21 had a 9% greater chance of selling within 180 days closer to the asking price vs. homes put on the market from March 22 through June 21, and a 10% greater chance of selling against homes listed from June 22 through September 20.” Just because everyone else has bought into the myth, don’t go along blindly. The data doesn’t support that waiting will do anything but make you wait longer to sell your home and potentially get you less.
2. Buyers are Highly Motivated
The buyers who are looking for a home around the holidays are more motivated to buy than the ones who are just casually looking in the spring market. Although they might be fewer, they are more likely to follow through. Anyone who is putting themselves through the stress of home shopping during the busiest time is out to buy, not just look around!
3. Bad Weather is not the Enemy – It is Your New BFF
Private investors and discerning buyers find the wintertime an ideal time to investigate the quality of their home purchase. During the summer, you can look all around the house and probably not see all the things that fall apart during the summer. Winter is a time when you can see the lack of waterproofing, insulation, and any HVAC issues that might not surface during the summer months. Winters are when a home shows all its failings. So for the homebuyer looking for the best of the best, winter is a way to bring out the solid and weed the weak.
You want the market to be hot enough so that people are looking, but not so hot that there is fierce competition. The spring market is when the listings flood the South Carolina area and saturate the real estate market. When you list your home during the holidays, there isn’t much competition. And as anyone who understands markets knows, low supply means high demand. When you list your home during the wintertime, you make it shine a lot brighter.
5. People are All About Emotions
The ideal situation for any home seller is that someone falls in love with their home and has an emotional tie. Why? Homebuyers are more apt to look past imperfections or offer more when they have an emotional tie to a house. The holidays are a time of sentiment, sights, and sounds of “home”. So your home will showcase warmth, tradition, and family. That means you are selling your home, not just your house.
Although most people wrongly think that listing their homes during the holidays is a waste of time and not worth the hassle, they are missing out big-time. Statistics show what very few know, homes sell quicker and for more when they are listed around the holidays. So, don’t wait until the gifts are unwrapped, the decorations put away, and the New Year is underway before you list your home. Now is a perfect time to get it on the market and get it sold. Call Sea Turtle Properties to discuss listing your home over the next couple of weeks.