Ask a panel of housing market experts (or even a local real estate agent, if it’s easier) what they believe is the optimum time of year to put your house up for sale, and they’ll all tell you the same thing – springtime.
According to a 2022 report by ATTOM Data Solutions, house sellers can “net thousands of dollars more if they sell during the peak months of May, June and July.”
However, if you know your home is going to be worth “thousands of dollars” less come the spring and summer of 2023, as all the housing market experts (and those local real estate agents, too) are predicting following the recent boom, then ATTOM’s advice doesn’t sound as appealing or as accurate anymore.
Why the Holiday Season Can Be a Perfect Time to Sell Your Home
This Holiday Season, 2022, could well be the perfect time to get your house on the market and secure a quick sale, as all the forecasts for 2023 are saying the same thing:
An Increase in Mortgage Rates = A Decrease in House Prices
The higher mortgage rates currently being offered by lenders (as a direct consequence of the Federal Reserve’s recent rises in interest rates) will push the real value of houses back down after they had increased considerably during the last couple of years, only to peak last year.
Obviously, the vast majority of homeowners are sitting on increased equity right now.
Although mortgage rates are looking a lot steadier now, the higher average rate will begin making houses more affordable, with industry forecasts predicting a downturn of between 5-8% in house prices – which means a 5-8% downturn in equity, too.
This has resulted in many homeowners looking to make their planned move sooner rather than later, and some are diligently putting their homes on the market right now.
Let’s look at why selling your home during this Holiday Season could really well be the perfect time for you.
6 Reasons to Sell Your Home During the Holiday Season
The Holiday Season, and all that it entails, does have some prime benefits when it comes to selling your home. The chances of a bidding war over your house may be slim, admittedly, but the potential buyers you do get interested in the property are guaranteed to be 100% serious about their intentions, and they will be willing to close a deal if they believe it is in their own best interests or the interests of their growing family.
1. Far Less U. S. Housing Inventory: Winter, 2022/23
The winter months – from December to the following February – in the U.S. usually means one thing for the number of available properties, known as the “housing inventory,” on the market – there are not many potential homes for new buyers.
This year the availability of these houses is even more restricted.
According to Jeffery Hayward, the Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of Fannie Mae, “Every American city has a housing supply problem.” The financial crisis in 2008 resulted in any new housing construction becoming severely limited, and this has become a problematic trend that has only worsened during the coronavirus pandemic.
Fannie Mac has reported that even in 2019, the U.S. was short around 3.8 million housing units for sale or rent.
What this means for people looking to sell their homes is positive. With fewer properties on offer, the price of existing houses stabilizes, and any interest is heightened. Some properties can even command a higher price for this very reason.
Add into the equation the fact that many sellers don’t want to list their houses just before or during the holidays because they have too much going on at a family level, and there is no endless list of properties for keen home buyers to look at. This means there’s more time for them to focus on yours.
If you do your research, stage your home properly, and price it right, you could attract the perfect buyer – and quickly be on your way out of the front door and into a brand new home.
2. Winter Home Buyers are Far More Serious
“Open houses” – a popular house viewing strategy recommended by real estate agents – normally occur during the spring and early summer months, when the weather is good, and the sun is shining down on your “For Sale” sign on the front lawn.
For many Americans, open houses are just another form of “window shopping” – they go inside, open up people’s cupboards and wardrobes, and have a good nosey look around.
For these people, attending neighborhood open houses is simply another favorite pastime.
However, if you sell your house during the winter months, and someone wishes to view it, then you can be sure that person isn’t just enjoying a little window shopping – they are serious potential buyers actively looking to purchase a new home.
In fact, anyone looking at houses for sale between Thanksgiving and New Year’s will likely be a serious buyer. They will not spend their precious holiday seeing “how the other half lives.”
This is one reason why selling your home during the Holiday Season can often result in a quicker sale.
3. Winter Homes For Sale Have the “Homely, Warm & Cozy” Factor
Many homeowners who put their houses up for sale during the winter months can then “stage” their property to give off the “homely, warm and cozy” feeling that comes when you enter a warm home after being outside in the cold. These feelings are also quite powerful and will make your home instantly appear and feel more pleasing to visitors.
When it comes to personal feelings, we all find the Holiday Season an emotive time – full of family memories, for one thing. It’s very hard to conjure those same emotions and feelings during the spring and summer months.
4. Festively-Decorated Neighborhoods More Appealing
One of the clearest changes to the way a neighborhood looks to visitors occurs during the Holiday Season, when the houses along a road or avenue en masse adorn and decorate their homes with festive lights and figures (think snowmen, reindeer, and the odd Santa Claus), and place holly wreaths on the front door, and so on.
People looking to purchase a home in a specific neighborhood during the Holiday Season will view the festive-looking house and its cheerful surroundings completely differently. They would also be more apt to consider an area quite differently than if they viewed it during the springtime.
People who buy properties during this time of year tend to be more prone to “emotional purchases.” As any half-decent salesman will tell you:
Emotion drives 80% of our decision-making.
If you can connect with a prospective home buyer on an emotional level, you’re more than halfway there, and if you are lucky enough to have a good sprinkling of snow on the ground – to give your neighborhood the “picturesque Christmas Card effect” – a sale is highly probable with the right buyer.
5. End-of-Year Job Transfers
Here’s another good reason to time your home sale during the Holiday Season – it’s the end of the year.
The end of the year is normally the time when people are notified by their employers that their job is either relocating or they are being transferred. Additionally, people often use this time of year to look for a new challenge work-wise, and this often involves a change of location.
Sooner rather than later, these employees will need to move home, and these are home buyers who cannot afford to wait for springtime, which is another reason why selling your house during the holiday period can get your home sold – and sold rapidly.
6. End-of-Year Tax Breaks
There are many possible reasons a buyer looks for a new home, and one of these is purely financial – to reduce their property tax bill. Home buyers are able to deduct the mortgage interest, property taxes, and interest costs of a loan if a sale closes on or before December 31.
New tax laws do limit the deduction, but these tax benefits could still prove to be the tipping point that makes a buyer move during the holidays, instead of waiting until spring.
| Holiday Season Home Sale: The Key Points | |
| Housing Inventory is very low during the holidays (especially so in 2022-23), so while you may not end up in a bidding war, you may be able to command a higher price buyer are far more serious during the holidays you can make your home feel very “homely, warm and cozy” during the winter months, which can create a strong emotional connection for buyersThe holidays are often a time for potential buyers to consider job transfers and end-of-year tax breaks. |  |
Better Off Home Buyers Can Help You Move During the Holiday Season
Selling your home during the Holiday Season means less competition from other sellers, fewer properties on the market, and, importantly, buyers are serious about a new house purchase. It can also be the impetus for a speedy sale.
At Better Off Home Buyers, we can help you move quickly, just like the hundreds and hundreds of homeowners we have helped to move quickly before.
Whatever the reason for you wanting to sell your house – opting for a life change that involves moving to another state, more room for a growing family, or a bigger footprint needed for permanent work-from-home space – we can offer you a handsome cash price for your property.
Simply fill out our short form below or dial our phone number directly. You will receive a “no-obligation, no-pressure” cash offer for your property. Our home-buying process is transparent and easy to understand. We close in about seven days, but you can close on the date of your choice.
Contact us at Better Off Home Buyers today.