Is Your Home On Someone's Christmas List?

Five Reasons You Shouldn’t Wait To Sell Your Home

Those of you who follow my YouTube channel will likely know I host a weekly real estate and variety livestream where we chat about our lives and I answer all your burning real estate questions. Recently, I received this question: “Are the holidays a bad time to buy or sell a home? When IS the best time to sell your home?”

You can find the short answer in the video linked below, but if you’re in the market for a more comprehensive answer to “When should I sell my home?” this blog post might be for you. Here are five reasons you shouldn’t wait to buy or sell a home during the holidays.

1: Buyer Demand In Horizon West Is Still High 

Despite a slowing market, homes in Horizon West, FL continue to appreciate and demand continues to outpace supply.

In the latter part of 2022, the buyer’s market in Horizon West, Florida has seen an increase in the supply of homes for sale. In general, this leveling of supply and demand leads to a somewhat slower market, but don’t mistake a slower market for a flipped one. 

Even with the shifting market, demand is still outpacing supply. That means there are still more people looking for homes than there are homes to buy. If you’re looking to sell your home, now is still a great time to put your home on the market. 

2: Holiday Home Buyers Are Serious

Especially in Central Florida, where tourism is king, there are plenty of folks who peruse model homes and open houses just to look around the area, maybe dream of living so close to their favorite park…and then go back home without ever seriously considering purchasing real estate here. 

During the holidays, casual buyers without time constraints might choose to wait for the new year. That’s true! However, you can rest assured that despite the possibility of fewer showings or less foot traffic during your open houses, those folks who are looking for a home during the holidays are serious about buying. They need a new home, and they’re hoping yours is the right one. 

Going into 2023, we’re also seeing the largest living generation, Millennials, increasingly entering the housing market as the younger Millennials and older Gen-Z are out of college and well into adulthood, looking for a place to call home. Meanwhile, older Millennials are aging into their prime home-buying years. 

3: Holiday Cheer Is A Home Buying Bonus

Holiday decor can contribute to your home’s curb appeal and homey feel while it’s on the market!

You may think that the holidays are a time when folks want to hunker down, enjoy the season as a family, and steer well clear of the housing market. That’s not untrue, but it’s also a wide-spanning generalization that ignores one unique benefit that only selling your home during the holidays has: the holiday spirit! 

That’s right – homes that are well-staged and decorated for the holidays are actually a big appeal to many buyers. Think of it this way: when selling your home, potential buyers want to be able to picture themselves living there, growing their family there, etc. When they see a beautiful neighborhood and a beautiful home, sparkling with holiday lights, it becomes a lot easier to picture warming up on the front porch with a mug of hot cocoa when it's their own decorations contributing to the holiday spirit. 

4: Less Foot Traffic Equals More Convenience

When your home is on the market, it’s important to keep a clean house and be ready at a moment’s notice to leave the property for showings or pre-planned open houses. This might seem like a bit of an annoyance, especially during the holidays, but we can use the reduced foot traffic to our advantage by only scheduling showings and open houses when it’s the most convenient for you and your family. 

No matter when you’re selling a home in Horizon West, Florida, I’ll work with you to find showing times that fit your busy schedule. However, especially during the holiday season, it’s important to minimize disruptions and let you enjoy some family time without the constant worry that you’ll need to pack up and head out at any time. 

5: Escaping Rising Rents Before The New Year

Rents across the country continue to rise with projections of more to come. Savvy home buyers are looking to escape rising rents and start their path to home ownership.

Here in Horizon West, there are ample new apartment complexes sprouting up everywhere, attracting those families that feel it could be a more cost effective option when moving to Florida. However, renters beware! Rents have absolutely skyrocketed in recent years, and here in Central Florida, the rents alone are comparable to the mortgages on modestly sized single family homes and townhomes. In the next year, it’s predicted that rents will grow more than inflation, the stock market, and home values. 

Folks moving to Florida from out of state, assuming they’ve done their research and have contacted me first before spending way too much on an apartment, will be looking for a well-priced single family home that can help them build the equity that a rental property can’t provide. The holidays are a particularly good time to put these types of homes on the market, because those already local to Horizon West will be looking out for single family homes as well in hopes of escaping those rising rents before they’re stuck for another year.

Bonus: The Best Time To Buy/Sell…Is When You Need To

We can always chat about the best times to buy or sell. It’s a fun little mental exercise, and it can provide some valuable insight into the way the market and the human beings that run it work. In this blog, I wanted to showcase some of the unseen benefits of selling your home during the holiday season at the end of the year. Does that mean I’d advise you to rush to sell your home today if you’d rather wait? Absolutely not, and nor does it mean the opposite: you shouldn’t sit on a home you know you need to sell in hopes that you can sell at a “better time.” 

Ultimately, the best time to sell your home (or buy one, for that matter) is when you’re ready. The world is a big place, and especially in Central Florida, there will be someone looking to buy at the same time you’re looking to sell no matter where we are in the year. There will always be unique benefits and challenges with any home, but as long as you’ve got a good Realtor on your side, the market will meet you where you’re at, and so will I. 

Want To Know More About When To Sell Your Home? 

If you’re in the process of buying or selling a home right now, best of luck! I hope your holiday season is joyful and successful in more ways than one. If you have any other questions about the current market and when is the best time to buy or sell your Central Florida home, shoot me a text to my cell at 407-848-8042.

As one of the top Realtors in my area, I work hard to demystify the entire process for you and your family, so you can skip the vocab test and skip right to the fun part. If you’re ready to take the next step in buying or listing your home, let’s get in touch! I’m always eager to help.