For those of you that call expired listings and for sale by owners the most common objections this time of the year from a homeowner is "I want to wait until after the holidays" or "Nobody buys homes during the holidays." We all know this is NOT true. In fact if you look at your MLS statistics homes still sell in November and December, so the homeowners that are on the market actually have a distinct advantage over those that are "sleeping" until spring time. Here is the most compelling reasons if I was a homeowner I would be excited about having my home on the market during the holiday season.

1. There is much less competition out there right now. What I mean by that is every other seller is your competition. Most sellers pull their home off the market until spring time. Less competition means buyers have less choices. Less choices means better odds for you as a seller right now.
2. Buyers that are out there right now looking at homes are serious buyers. Most buyers that are "window shoppers" are out in during the peak season, spring and summer just browsing. The only buyers that are out right now are buyers that have sold their home and must buy a house before the holidays or their lease is up where they are at and must by a house right now.
3. Houses decorated during the holiday season show much nicer.
4. The holidays are an emotional time. The buyers that are out looking at homes are more emotional and may pay more for your house around the holidays.
5. Some buyers must buy before the end of the year for tax reasons.
6. Since the supply of listings will dramatically increase starting in January and every month thereafter, there will be less demand for your particular home! Less demand means less money for you!
7. January is traditionally the month for employees to begin new jobs. Since transferees cannot wait until Spring to buy, you must be on the market now to capture that market!
8. Buyers have more time to look for a home during the Holidays than they do during a working week!
9. By selling now, you may have an opportunity to be a non-contingent buyer during the Spring, when many more houses are on the market for less money! This will allow you to sell high and buy low! There is every indication that across the nation, prices will continue to decline in 2009.
10. You can still be on the market, but you have the option to restrict showings during the six or seven days during the Holidays! You can't win the lotto if you don't buy a ticket and you can't sell your home if it's not listed for sale for buyers to view.

Hope this helps, it is nothing but the truth. I sell the same number of homes if not more during November and December, therefore I know from experience just because most Realtors take a two month vacation this time of the year doesn't mean that buyers do. There will be sales during November and December, and there is no reason why you can't be on one of the ends of the deal. For up to the minute information on the Metro Detroit Real Estate market visit my Metro Detroit Real Estate Blog. You can also catch up on the 12 Facts Nobody Told You About Purchasing Bank Owned Foreclosures.

Picture courtesy of Sister72

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