Are the Christmas Holidays a good time to buy or sell?
Posted on 28 NOV
Are the Christmas Holidays a Good Time to Buy or Sell?
Traditionally, sales activity in the housing market slows during the holiday period as people become distracted with Christmas shopping and planning their holiday vacation. However, this can be a good time to buy or sell, depending on the market you are in.
Buying:
One of the advantages of buying a home in December can be the eagerness of sellers to finalise a deal before the end of the year so that they can be done and dusted before their holiday. And they might be more open to a lower offer provided the buyer can move quickly and settle early.
Vendors who have properties scheduled for February auctions may also be willing to sell early if a buyer presents a compelling offer.
Selling:
Property sellers can meet different types of buyers during the holiday season—from the frustrated ones who have been looking for a property since the beginning of spring to the motivated ones who are keen to buy before Christmas or the beginning of the new school year.
People looking to transfer to a new city often use the holiday period to do their research by visiting their new city to look for their new home.
The end of the year is also a common time for rental leases to end, which will have a lot of people working out their next move – and some of these will be looking to buy.
As there are fewer properties in the market by the end of the year, sellers can easily make their property stand out from the crowd, enticing motivated buyers without having to deal with as much competition.
Remember though, that solicitors, mortgage brokers, and other service providers may close their offices from around mid-December to mid-January which may also significantly delay the settlement process.
While there may be fewer buyers in the market, there are also fewer sellers during this time and at the end of the day, supply and demand will vary depending on the market you are trying to buy or sell in, so consult with your real estate professional before making a decision.
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