Why NOT to Take Your Home off the Market During the Holidays

If you asked around you will find most people are going to suggest you take your home off the market during the holidays. These people may be friends, family, or even your neighbors. The truth is, if you ask this same question to an experienced, knowledgeable and qualified real estate agent who has the ability to harness raw data to help determine the ideal buyers for your listing you will get a different answer. The reality is anytime you feel ready to sell your home is the perfect time.  We live in Minnesota so winter is no surprise to those of us who have lived here all of our lives which means there are real sellers in the winter and there are real buyers.

During this time of the year potential buyers are serious and they are qualified. This means that people who attend your open house and make a point to set up a showing with their realtor are serious about buying a home and they feel your home has serious potential. Winter and the holidays bring relocation buyers. Many times this is related to job relocation, but another huge relocation is grandparents wanting to be closer to their grandchildren. They are in town for the holidays visiting their family and this gives them the perfect opportunity to find the home they are looking for.  This is also the time of the year executives are exercising their stock options and receiving bonuses.  An inflow of cash can help influence the timing of when a new home is purchased. The holiday season is the time of the year when those who grew up in your town and moved away want to move back. If you decide to take your home off the market for the winter season you will miss out on those that need to look while they are in town, which means you may miss out on the sale of your home.

Demand is still high during the winter, but supply is low.  This is a great time to be a seller, as you are not competing with hundreds of other homes on the market in the same price range as yours. Home buying is an emotional process and the holidays are an emotional time. Staging your home to have a cozy holiday atmosphere can work to your advantage when selling your home.