- by Cole Gargaro
HOMES DO SELL DURING THE HOLIDAYS!
Mythbuster: Homes actually DO SELL during the holiday season!
Quite often, too often in fact, REALTORS® hear home sellers say that they want to take their home off the market for the holiday season. Their concerns usually stem from the misconception that buyers are not looking during November and December because they’re halting their search for the holidays. Although this may be true for some, it is not always the case.
Typically, for home sellers who list in early fall, their home can stay on the market longer than anticipated because the inventory during that time is typically at a high point for the year. More inventory means more buyer selection, and thus it takes longer for homes to sell than lower inventory times when there are fewer homes for buyers to compete for. Historically, September and October are the months with highest inventory, and as those homes sell or go off the market during late fall, inventory decreases in November and December. Buyers should be aware that it is entirely counterproductive to assume that there is something wrong with a home that is on the market longer than a typical busy season. It has more to do with the available inventory, which is fairly high during the fall, than anything being undesirable about the home. Waiting to buy will cost you.
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A drop in inventory during this time means that there are fewer homes for the motivated buyers to compete over. That is because some sellers do wait, but that is also because buyers are still buying. Lower inventory gives sellers the opportunity to sell for more money and negotiate for an optimal closing timeframe, especially if these sellers are also buyers. This makes it advantageous for sellers to list during the holiday season..
The golden handcuffs of homeowners wanting to keep the low pandemic mortgage rates are unlocking. People with life changes such as relocation, family growth, downsizing, divorce, or changes in tax implications or financial circumstances, end up being the consumer that drives the real estate market during the holidays. Even for the sellers out there still clinging to their pandemic era rates but have those life changes requiring that moves are made, there are creative ways to get the deals done. Buydowns and mortgage assumptions are making it possible for buyers and sellers to leverage lower rates than what’s currently available and homes are still selling.
Buyers who are out there looking for homes on busy holiday weekends, or in northeastern wintery weather, are VERY motivated. These buyers are most likely to make serious offers if they’re interested in your home. It is a known fact that although the quantity of buyers is lower during the holidays, the quality of the buyer is often substantially greater. And for buyers, remember that sellers whose homes are on the market during the holidays are often quite serious about selling.
Pending Sales Per Week - Last Year
One of the many metrics we track on a weekly basis at Lamacchia Realty is the percentage of homes placed under contract compared to the number of homes on the market (inventory) each week. It provides us and our clients with very telling data about how active the market is by showing demand in real time.
In the chart below, you can see that the blue line for 2025 follows the same trends as prior years, where there are some peaks in the spring and the rest of the year is a relatively steady trend line hovering between 10 and 15%. The highest peak in 2025 was week 16 at around 23% of homes placed under contract out of what was on the market, but that time of year averaged around 18%. If 2025 follows the same fall trends as previous years, and there is no reason to believe it won’t given the recent mortgage rate adjustment, the rest of the year will average a weekly percentage of around 13%. That’s just about 5% difference – not a huge change from the height of the spring market. Homes DO sell during the holidays!
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The Buyers Still Looking in November and December Want a Home!
The charts below depict the number of homes sold throughout the year. Fall begins around week 40. The purple line for 2024 shows a very active market from week 40 to the end of the year at week 52.
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Year after year, home buyers’ circumstantial need to purchase a home trumps their desire to focus on the holidays or wait out the frigid northeasterly weather.
Joselin Malkhasian is a leading REALTOR® with Lamacchia Realty, and she shares this story with many of her clients when they bring up the myth about buyers:
"Buyers connect emotionally to homes. They’re looking to create memories for years to come and no better time than around the holidays. I saw my home on December 5th and I immediately envisioned my stockings on the mantel and a Christmas tree in front of the bay window. I put an offer on the home the same day."
Joselin’s experience is all too familiar and it highlights the importance of taking advantage of the season but staging your home appropriately. Buyers want a home during the holiday months and there is no better gift than the keys to a new home. Throughout the year, the market typically shifts between the buyer’s and seller’s favor. The market we are in now is ever-changing and attempting to rediscover balance, so it is crucial to be well-informed and proactive if you are looking to buy this holiday season.
The deceleration of market activity is driven by higher-level forces such as rates, inflation, and to a certain degree, economic uncertainty driven by headlines. The point to remember here is that despite all these factors, buyers are still buying, and sellers are still selling. Don’t miss your chance to capitalize on the motivated buyers and sellers in this current market before the new year hits and the spring frenzy takes off! A home that isn’t on the market will certainly not sell!
Hang in there, and if you have any questions about listing in the winter, buydowns or mortgage assumptions, contact one of our local expert REALTORS® and we can help guide you through this process!
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