Despite what real estate lore might tell you, in my experience, the holiday season is a great time to buy a house. Here’s why:
For buyers, you often have time off during the holiday season to really focus on finding the house you want, or your schedule lightens up and you can make room for home tours and open houses. But it’s not just the holiday season that’s an advantageous time to buy. In our current market environment, there are no bad days to buy a house, only good ones!
In terms of recent market trends, the general buyer pool has been limited by rising interest rates and shrunken or record-low inventory in most areas of the country. The best pockets across the nation continue to have multiple offers in the “friendly” price ranges for these regions, meaning the “reasonable” or average priced homes in their areas.
The ultra luxury, high-end market has seen an increase in inventory in all areas and that market has slowed; those buyers are discretionary shoppers that usually have the time and means to wait for just the right property to come on the market. If they are not in a “must move” situation i.e. job relocation, school systems, divorce, new baby(s), many of those high-end shoppers are willing to wait.
Plus, the average buyer is on their laptop or mobile device 24/7. If they are on a search system (as most buyers are) and a serious shopper, they will likely be getting alerts every time a new listing or even “coming soon” listing pops up whether it is a weekday, weekend or holiday. Real estate and house shopping is a passion and a job not for the weak. Serious buyers in all price ranges usually know about new listings even before their agent does in these scenarios. With the market of the last few years, real estate has become a “knows no season” market. Buyers are looking at properties at work, home, play, meetings, and even while on vacation. An agent’s connections with other agents is one of the many ways we provide our value added services for buyers and sellers in any market.
And another advantage of buying during the holiday season? Many buyers put their search on hold, so you could potentially have less competition when it comes to submitting an offer. Sellers who have their homes listed during the holidays are often motivated to sell quickly, so many times, you can expect a faster transaction process.
Holidays, winter, spring, summer or fall … There are truly no bad days in real estate to look for your next home, albeit there are better days than others!
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Andrew Manning • REALTOR® • Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties • DRE: 00941825 • 818-380-2147 • andrew@andrewmanning.com