Selling your Home During the Winter Month ~ Unexpected Benefits.

Selling Your Home This Christmas? 3 Unexpected Benefits

If you’ve got a home on the market right now, it can leave you feeling like the Grinch stole your Christmas. Everyone knows spring’s the season for selling.  And working home showings into a busy holiday schedule is like trying to shove a 20-foot tree into your living room.

Competition Dries Up

Come spring, sellers will flood the market, and your home will be just another fish in a great big pond. But right now, you’ve practically got the market to yourself.

“Very few homes come on the market in December and January, so you’ve got serious buyers who just pounce on homes as soon as they hit the market,” If your home is priced right and within the Buyers price range, you should be getting some showing activity. You’d be surprised at how many of these homes sell in a week, during these winter months.

In fact, a recent study of 19 metropolitan cities showed that homes listed in winter were more likely to sell within six months and spent fewer days on the market compared to homes listed in other seasons. Even in frigid climates like Boston, Wisconsin and  Chicago, winter sellers got better results than those who listed any other time of year.

Of course, every market is different, so ask be sure to ask your agent.

Most folks want to curl up under a blanket next to a warm fire on a cold winter day. If a buyer’s trudging around in freezing weather to look at your home, they must be serious. That’s because many winter buyers are working against a deadline, whether it’s an expiring lease, relocation, or a contract on their current home.

So does that mean you have to send guests packing every time you get a call for a showing? If they ask to look at your home in the middle of a family gathering, it’s okay to say no. Serious buyers will come back the exception is if there’s a serious buyer who’s in town during the holidays to look for houses because it’s their time off,”

A good agent will set proper expectations with the buyer’s agent if your home isn’t picture-perfect for a last-minute showing. They’ll also let you know if and when they’ll be out of pocket and which agent will handle your listing during that time so holiday opportunities don’t pass you by.