Should You Take Your Home Off The Market For The Holiday?

Sellers everyday right now contemplate removing their home off the housing market and putting it back up after the holiday season is over. But is that a wise idea in these economic times? My experience so far has said it is not and in years past has shown that it is not a viable option. First, when you remove your home off the market this time of the year you are losing out on potential buyers that are out looking for a house and HAVE to buy. The reality is we all have so much other things going on right now that going out to look at homes and not being in the market to buy a home is not one of those options. So, you may not get the amount of showings that you had earlier in the year but the showings you do receive are more quality showings and those buyers have less choices to make in terms of available houses. Second, less competition than in the spring time. The numbers in our multiple listing service in Charlotte, NC. show that inventory hits the lowest level all year from December 1st through January 15th. There are substantially less homes available for sale. Now, there are fewer buyers out there but; you may be only competing against one or two other homes now versus five or six or possibly more in the spring time. More competition tends to keep the prices down as someone always seems to be getting more aggressive with pricing when there is more to choose from. Third, and for me one of the biggest reasons I tell sellers not to take their house off the market now is this is my second busiest time of the year besides the spring. In fact, it runs very close to being the busiest time of the year....A lot of home buyers chose now to move because the kids are on break from school for an extended vacation and it is easier to make the move now than to move during the middle of classes during the school year.... Fourth, the inconvenience of showings during the holiday is not all that bad. You can adjust the showing schedule accordingly. I tell a lot of my sellers to change the showings for this time of the year to appointment required. This way they have to confirm the showing and if they have family or friends in town they can politely cancel the showing or offer a reschedule of the showing do to the circumstances. Buyers know that this time of the year people get together and usually will accommodate a change in the showing schedule for family.... If your house is on the market now; keep it on the market you may pick up that buyer sooner rather than later...... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Coldwell Banker United www.davedicecco.com