Holiday Home Selling Myths
Myth #1: No one wants to buy a home during the holidays. People often believe that during the holidays, the last thing people want to buy is a home. They want to avoid the hassle of looking, closing, and moving. The market just isn’t there.
Fact: Homebuyers who are serious about moving shop 365 days a year. The smart homebuyer knows there won’t be as much risk in getting into a bidding war with other homebuyers. The available homes might be slimmer, but perhaps homebuyers are fine with having fewer options. After all if they want to move in by the end of year, they need to act fast. For sellers, a smaller inventory of homes means they could probably get more value for the home than they could during any other season.
Myth 2: Transactions take twice as a long. People figure with the holidays arriving, businesses are on limited availability, employees are out, and transactions take twice as a long to get done. You’ll be lucky if you get this sale in the books this year.
Fact: While limited personnel might be true, there are fewer transactions that take place during this season. This means the mortgage lenders have fewer loans to process, attorneys have fewer closings to do, and home inspectors have fewer inspections to fulfill. All of these factors should lead to a quicker transaction and closing for everyone involved.
Myth 3: It’s ok to take a house off the market during the holidays if it hasn’t sold.
A house hasn’t sold in almost two months and the holidays are upon us. In Austin, this duration is almost unheard of that we might as well call it quits until the New Year right?
Fact: There’s a whole different group of homebuyers coming into the picture. In fact, taking the property off the market abruptly may send the wrong message to prospects and destroy any possible opportunities you might have had. Take advantage of the time and think about offering incentives to homebuyers. Can you reduce the cost? Offer any concessions at closing? Just like buying a car, homebuyers appreciate extra incentives for these life-changing purchases, especially at holiday time.
Research Shows the Holidays Aren’t So Bad
A Realtor.com study shows that 79% of agents surveyed reported that more serious buyers come out during the holidays, and 61% said less competition from other properties make it a great time to sell. In addition, 17% of agents said the cold weather is actually a benefit, making homes feel cozier. These facts and others can be found in NAR’s Field Guides.
Source: Austin Board of Realtors: http://www.abor.com/blog-holiday-home-selling/
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