Holidays Archives - Title First Agency

Sleigh the Sale: Mastering Home Selling During the Holiday Season

The holiday season might seem like an unconventional time to sell your home, but with the right strategy, you can transform potential obstacles into unique selling advantages. While many homeowners pause their real estate plans during this festive period, savvy sellers can leverage the season’s special qualities to stand out in the market.

Why Winter Can Be a Surprisingly Good Time to Sell

Contrary to popular belief, the holiday season offers some distinct benefits for home sellers:

Less Competition: Fewer homes are typically listed during the holidays, which means less competition and more focused attention from serious buyers.
Motivated Buyers: People searching for homes during the holidays are often more serious and motivated, including job transferees and those wanting to settle before the new year.
Emotional Appeal: Homes can look particularly warm and inviting during the holiday season, creating an emotional connection with potential buyers.

Staging Your Home for Holiday Success

Holiday decorations can be a double-edged sword. The key is to create a welcoming atmosphere without overwhelming potential buyers.

Minimal, Tasteful Decorations: Choose a neutral, elegant decorating scheme that highlights your home’s best features.
Warm Lighting: Soft, warm lighting can make your home feel cozy and inviting during darker winter days.
Depersonalize Strategically: While holiday decor can add charm, ensure it doesn’t distract from your home’s architectural features and potential.

Practical Tips for Winter Home Selling

Curb Appeal Matters (Even in Winter)

Keep walkways and driveways clear of snow and ice
Ensure exterior lighting is functional and welcoming
Add some winter-friendly landscaping elements like evergreen plants or winter-resistant decorative elements

Highlight Heating and Insulation

Be prepared to showcase your home’s energy efficiency
Have recent heating bills available to demonstrate cost-effectiveness
Ensure your home feels warm and comfortable during showings

Flexible Showing Schedule

Be accommodating with showing times, understanding that daylight hours are shorter
Consider virtual tours as a supplement to in-person showings
Maintain your home in “show-ready” condition, which might be more challenging during busy holiday periods

Pricing Strategy

The holiday market requires a nuanced approach:

Price your home competitively, accounting for the seasonal slowdown
Be realistic and flexible with negotiations
Consider working with an experienced real estate agent who understands the winter market dynamics

Financial Considerations

While the holiday season can present unique challenges, it can also offer financial opportunities.

Potential tax advantages of closing before year-end
Possible year-end relocation packages for corporate transfers
Lower inventory can sometimes lead to better negotiating positions

Final Thoughts

Selling a house during the holidays isn’t just possible—it can be strategic. By understanding the market, preparing your home thoughtfully, and maintaining flexibility, you can successfully navigate the winter real estate landscape.

Remember, every home and market is unique. Consult with a local real estate professional who can provide insights specific to your area and situation.

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Holiday Home Selling

Winter season is not the most optimal but if you hire a Realtor that knows your market well, you still can sell your home at a competitive price. If you are living in the Northeast, Midwest, or other cold areas, the following are some ways that can help to sell your home faster and at a fair price during the busy month of December and then through the darker months of January and February.

There are fewer homes being sold now, and winter in general, which makes people nervous about putting their homes on the market. More home buyers are house-hunting in the Spring months when the weather is warmer, and the days are longer. But, you might be surprised to find out that Winter could actually be a great time to put your home on the market. The new year is a time when most people are back at work after the holidays and will often search the web for their next big move. If you are serious about selling your home, it should be online and marketed early to ensure they don’t miss this audience.

Because it isn’t a high-selling time, you will need a very experienced Realtor to help price your home as it can be complex. You don’t want to scare off buyers by pricing too high or even too low, causing buyers to wonder what’s wrong with your house. When your home is put on the market in the winter, buyers often assume you are desperate to sell your home and may lowball you thinking you’ll sell for any price. Buyers that are house hunting during this traditional off-season time, usually mean they are eager to buy and more willing to negotiate the price.

One of the beauties of the holiday months is that many people adorn their homes with festive lights and decorations. People purchasing a home during that time may see the neighborhood in a different light—more festive and cheerful—and may be more willing to consider an area that they may have been on the fence about.

Stirring up some interest during cold January is to price your home slightly under comparable homes in order to draw in multiple offers. More offers tend to drive up the value of your home prompting more competitive bids from buyers who often will end up paying more than the initial asking price.

The real challenge might be to help dress up your home after the holidays in dreary January and February weather. To help make your home feel more welcoming, shovel the walks, add outdoor illumination along paths, light candles indoors, add cozy throw blankets, and have holiday-type smells such as cinnamon or cookies.

Furthermore, during the cold, any problems you may have in your home can become more prominent including drafts and leaks. To help lessen these potential problems, crank up the heat so buyers feel toasty warm and will be less likely to notice any issues.

While it may be difficult to sell your home during the holidays and January and February, it’s not impossible especially if you hire an experienced Realtor who knows your neighborhood well and can guide you to list your home at the best possible price. Sometimes, waiting to list your home during the beautiful Spring months when the sun is out and the trees are blooming and flowering can mean that you could miss out on potential buyers. Many Realtors will tell you, some of their best sales happened in the new year.

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Selling a Home During the Holidays

Putting your home on the market to sell during the holiday | Winter season is not the most optimal but if you hire a Realtor that knows your market well, you still can sell your home at a competitive price. If you are living in the Northeast, Midwest, or other cold areas, the following are some ways that can help to sell your home faster and at a fair price during the busy month of December and then through the darker months of January and February.

The real challenge might be to help dress up your home after the holidays in dreary January and February weather. To help make your home feel more welcoming, shovel the walks, add outdoor illumination along paths, light candles indoors, add cozy throw blankets, have holiday-type smells such as cinnamon or cookies.

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Holiday Home Buying

Some of the best deals people can make is buying a home during the Christmas holiday season. The real estate inventory is limited as there are fewer people selling homes, but this will come as an advantage to buyers. The truth is negotiating a favorable price will be much easier than other times of the year. Other than getting a good deal on a new home there are a few really good advantages to now, being the time to find and buy that home.

Closing on a new home before December 31 will bring tax benefits. Deductions can be itemized such as points paid upon closing, property taxes and mortgage interest rates. Often times, a move at this time of the year has to do with an employment move which can bring more tax breaks.

Sellers who choose to have their home on the market during the holidays are usually more motivated than the rest of the year. Listing a home during an off peak time such as this often means a job relocation, or some time sensitive issue that puts buyers in a position to get a better deal.

Everyone involved with the real estate deal – sellers, Realtors, title agencies, banks, inspectors, lenders – want to wrap the deal up before the holidays. This time of year brings about a much more focused and speedy process that takes longer during the rest of the year. Just make sure before you begin the process that the Realtor that you choose will not be leaving for vacation and become MIA for a week or so.

Favorable financing comes at holiday time. Interest rates on mortgages and loans typically hit a lower point around the holidays because fewer people are looking to borrow. There is historically, less financial business being done during December.

And, another pretty fine reason to buy a home during the holidays? January and February bring the seasonal sales. Think – new furniture, appliances, decor, even next year’s holiday decorations!

The Bottom Line: Buyers should watch the market conditions as well as look online at what is out there. Get the word out to Realtors that can help find any “pocket listings”. Check out the many online calculators that are available and see how much can be saved over the life of a mortgage with even a little decrease in interest rates that tend to happen during the holidays.

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Holiday Season Home Buyers Are Serious

Thoughts of selling your home during the very busy holiday season between Halloween and New Years? In the past, people would wait until January to list their home because there were fewer buyers out looking. While that may be true – there are not as many people looking for a home, times are different now and there are plenty of compelling reasons to list your home now.

There is much less competition. Potential buyers are prepared to buy – the fact that they are even looking during this busy season is evidence enough that they are motivated and ready to buy. Fewer homes for sale makes it more likely that buyers will check out your home.

Holiday buyers are also caught up in the season. Emotions are running high and where they are thinking of the past, and more importantly, the future. When a buyer is emotional, they tend to be more excited to purchase because it makes them feel good. Case in point the retail sales at this time of year.

Seeing your home during the holiday season helps them envision their own family celebrating. Use the most experienced Realtor and he/she will be able to guide you on how to decorate – using some restraint in holiday decorating goes a long way. Keep it simple, impersonal and show off your home’s best points. Have a fire going in the fireplace, cookies baking in the oven and a Christmas Tree decorated with only the most special ornaments. Don’t forget the outside, as well. For example, a simple beautiful wreath on the front door is better than colored lights and blow up Santas on the front lawn.

Loan approval is much faster during this season. The lenders aren’t as busy since there are not a lot of home sales happening. When the loan is processed faster, you get your money faster.

The possibility of tax benefits at the end of the year can get a buyer moving. A home bought now is very beneficial. Many of the expenses used to purchase the home can be written off on their taxes. Plus, plenty of advantages including deductions for mortgage interest, private mortgage insurance premiums, tax credits for real estate taxes, etc.

The Bottom Line: Selling during the holiday season has plenty of advantages. Yes, there are fewer buyers out there, but the ones that are looking tend to be serious. They are ready to make a decision. It can be harder for you and your family to have showings, but if you commit to set boundaries with your Realtor on when the home can be seen, but yet remain flexible and patient it will be less stressful on your family and increase the chances of the right buyer walking through your front door.

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Fall Home Selling

It’s always been said that Spring is the best time to put a home on the market to sell. But, Fall might just be a perfect time and often homes can sell faster at this time of year.

Buyers are more serious in the Fall. During the Spring months, there are many homes on the market giving buyers more time to look at them in great detail and be more particular. Once September arrives, there aren’t as many homes listed, the competition is less, and buyers are more rushed to buy, close and move in before the holidays and even Winter weather becomes an issue.

Curb appeal is still so important. Be sure to rake dead leaves and debris in your yard. If there is overgrown vegetation blocking windows, remove it and cut bushes and tree limbs. Put bright mums in pots at the front door and plant in gardens where it looks empty from pulling the dead Summer flowers. Leaves in gutters should be removed often.

The days are shorter, the sun sets lower and earlier in the horizon so be sure to turn the lights all over the home before a showing. Pull up the blinds, open the shutters, push back the drapes on every window. Make sure each room is bright! Closet lights, appliance lights – anything to make the home shine! Many buyers want a showing after work so it will most likely be dark outside.

Be sure to have the furnace, boiler and even the fireplace checked. Nothing would be worse than a cold Fall day and buyers come in only to discover that there are heating problems. Additionally, having a roaring fire in the fireplace might be just the ambiance needed for buyers to “see” themselves in the home.

Price the home to sell in the current market. A skilled Realtor will help set the price using the comps in the neighborhood coupled with the time of year – which does not necessarily mean the home should be priced lower, but priced right. The home might sit on the market longer as we head into the Holiday & Winter Season making it even harder to sell if it’s priced too high.

The Bottom Line: There will be fewer showings when putting a home on the market to sell in the Fall. The good news is that the buyers that are looking are more serious and motivated. Most importantly, find a Realtor that has a great track record of selling homes, no matter the season. Do the homework, ask neighbors, friends and search online to find the most experienced Realtor.

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