Should I wait until after the holidays to sell my home?
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This week’s column was written by Jamison Doris, RISMedia’s blog/social media editor.
The holidays are fast approaching, and if you’re considering selling your home, now is the perfect time to reassess your strategy for getting your property sold. With the colder temperatures and many people heading on vacation, it may seem like an inopportune moment to list your house — but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Although it’s true that there are fewer buyers looking for a home at this time of year, the pros of marketing your home right now far outweigh the cons. There are fewer — yet far more serious — buyers searching for homes in your market. Also, there is less competition with fewer homes on the market, and transactions happen far more quickly because there are fewer being processed.
“A smaller pool of buyers during the fall and winter months will benefit the seller who dreads dropping everything to make the house presentable and get the kids and pets out the door for showings,” said Lou Nimkoff, president of the Orlando Regional Realtor Association.
Here are the top three reasons why you should sell now rather than wait until after the holidays:
Staging is simple during the holidays.
It’s true that now is one of the few times of the year that you can get by with minimal staging. Many agents will recommend some light “seasonal” staging during December, which really just means go ahead and put up decorations; just don’t go crazy with it. Homebuyers who shop during the offseason are typically very serious about getting into a house. They’re unlikely to waste their time viewing homes that don’t already suit their criteria and will be able to look past your child’s messy playroom.
Everything happens more quickly.
It makes sense that with far less transactions being processed in December, yours will happen more quickly than if you waited until after the holidays. With fewer transactions being processed, home inspectors have fewer inspections to do, mortgage lenders have fewer loans to process, and attorneys have fewer closings to handle. This all translates to a quicker closing and less stress for you.
There’s a lot less competition.
Although buyers have less competition, the fact that there are fewer homes listed in your area around this time of year may be your biggest advantage. Many homebuyers fall in love with a particular town or neighborhood. With less inventory in those areas, your home has a much better chance of being sold. After the holidays end, more for-sale signs will appear in your area, and with more comparable houses nearby, the chances of your home being viewed by the perfect buyer can go down dramatically.
Sellers naturally lean away from listing their homes on the market during these bitterly cold months, but with the information listed above, hopefully, you’ll think twice before waiting until spring. However, this is ultimately your decision, and you should choose when the perfect time is for you to list your home.
blog.rismedia.com
— Reprinted from with permission of RISMedia
House to House is distributed by the Arkansas Realtors Association. For more information about homeownership in Arkansas, visit www.ArkansasRealtors. com.