Top 5 Reasons To List Your Home During The Holidays

Top 5 Reasons To List Your Home During The Holidays

In Lewis County, homes prices have increased 13.21% compared to this time last year. More and more owners are beginning to realize they no longer owe more than their home is worth. Obviously, it’s a great time to list your house!  But many sellers wonder if this season is a good time to list, let alone the inconvenience, for fear they will lose money on their sale. Although counter to popular opinion, the winter holiday season is one of the best times to sell your home! The following is a list of the top 5 reasons to list your home during the holidays.

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#5 Less Competition

Many sellers take their home off the market. Less inventory means buyers compete over your home!

#4 Fewer Tire Kickers

Buyers who want to look at your home during the holidays are very serious and could be under a serious time crunch.

#3 Decorations are Encouraged

Your holiday decorations add to the ambiance of the home and allow the buyer to imagine themselves celebrating with family and friends.

#2 Time is of the Essence

Some buyers have to buy before the end of the year for tax purposes. Others are starting new jobs in January and want to get settled in before day 1.

#1 Mo' Money

The holiday season is a time filled with family and friends enjoying each other’s company, good food, memories, and “coming back home.” All of these emotions factor into more money for you!

These are the top 5 reasons to list your home during the holidays. While it is true that most home purchases are completed in the summer months, the second best season for buying and selling is during the holidays. During the recent economic downturn, the holidays were actually the best season for buying and selling real estate in Lewis County.

If you’re looking for a Realtor to assist you with your next home sale, or even if you just have questions about the current market, let’s chat about your options!

7 Tips for Chehalis/Centralia Home Sellers: TIP 1

This is the first video in 7 Tips for Chehalis/Centralia Area Home Sellers and today we’ll discuss Understanding Your Local Market.

When you’re thinking about making a move, it helps to know what your options are. One of those options, is how much your home is worth and how much you can expect to make. You will probably hear all sorts of rumors about a good market, low inventory, but unless you’re involved with the real estate industry, it’s hard to know an exact range.

Many people go by their tax assessment or online real estate sites like Zillow. Both are inaccurate. The tax assessment follows legal guidelines for value and of course, they’re going to tax you at the highest rate possible. Many times after a sale, the assessed tax value will go up because the higher sales price increases the maximum taxable value. Likewise, Zillow is inaccurate because it uses an algorithm. If you don’t input correct information into the algorithm, you’re not going to get accurate estimates at the end. In my experience, Zillow is off on home valuations by at least 30% or more!

Another option is to hire an appraiser for $400-800. To be quite frank, appraisers rarely get it right. An agent friend of mine told me a story where she told the owners a price and her broker didn’t agree. So the broker told the owner to get an appraisal and they will sell it for that amount, whatever it is. So appraiser came in higher by another $20,000. The home expired a few months later with very little interest.

That leaves you with your best option for understanding your local market: a Realtor. Granted, we don’t always get it right either, but we, for the most part, have a pulse on the market. The key thing to remember is that the market is set by a willing and able buyer for your property. A Realtor is going to be the most accurate estimate of value, and it’s free to get a Comparative Market Analysis done for your home! 

Once armed with that information, you’ll then have to decide whether you want to list with a Realtor or sell the home yourself.

Thinking about “Selling my home For Sale By Owner”?

One of the biggest reasons a home owner will chose to sell their home by themselves is to save on the commission. However, in reality you’re discounting your home by 11%+. I’ve worked with many FSBOs and I average 11% greater sales price than their last advertised price, more than making up for the commission. The difference is enhanced exposure. You’re not going to get the highest possible price if that person doesn’t know your house exists!

In summary, if you’re thinking about selling your home, the first step is to know your home’s value range in the current market. You have many options to find that value, with a Realtor being the most accurate. You can then list with a Realtor or market the home yourself. Next week’s video we’ll go over what happens when you receive an offer! Thanks so much for listening and make it an Extraordinary day!