The Holiday Market
From now through the end of the year, the active inventory typically drops about 23% and demand drops by 31%
Now that we have adjusted all the clocks in the house, it marks the beginning of a new season, a season of festivities and holidays. Many are thinking its too soon! And I would think that too, but as of this Saturday Starbucks will officially kick off holiday season with their holiday cups!
Similiarly this is the begining of a new season for housing as well. With shorter days and all of the distractions of holiday events and get togethers, home buying and selling will downshift for a bit. The inventory will steadily drop from now through the end of the year. Fewer homeowners will want to deal with selling and moving during the holidays. And at the same time buyers will also wait until January or February to start the search again. But even though the holidays are here, there are still home sellers that need to sell and home buyers that need to buy. People still need to move for relocation, personal situations or simply because they want to start off the year in a new home. For home sellers it may be the best time to sell, yes there are less buyers looking, but there is also less competition meaning more attention to your property.
Our current listings on the market are already quite low and have been for months now, and buyer demand has been at an all time high. However that is about to change going into the holidays, as I mentioned, many buyers divert their attention from home buying to pumpkin pie, eggnog and kissing under the mistletoe. In the past 5 years the demand has fallen on average of 31% from Nov 1st until the end of the year. Keep in mind though that money is still cheap, interest rates are at an all time low and the holiday market will still be quite busy because of that. I just hope sellers who truly want to sell realize this and still opt in for listing.
The season you sell your home does have an impact on how much you get for your property and how quickly it sells. Typically the season that has the most success in selling homes is Spring. This is a good time of the year for families to move to new schools and also more convenient weather for moving. Luckily in San Diego we see good weather all year round (even in the winter) and since we are a military town we consistently see a good amount of home sales throughout the year. It's been a bit different this year with covid though. Most major cities went through a lockdown and the market didn't really come around until later. But even so most people will recommend waiting to list your home until after the holidays are over. Avoiding the holidays/winter is a HUGE misconception in the housing industry and can cause homeowners to miss out on opportunities that you won't see any other time during the year. This goes to you homebuyers as well, leaving the search until next year only means less competition for holiday buyers when submitting offers.
Bottom line is, if you need to sell your home don't scratch off the holidays! Wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season!
-M
