Happy Holiday House Hunting!

Tis the Season to be Jolly...Fa La La La La La La La La (in my Mariah Carey voice). Home sells tend to decrease around the Holiday Season, however, it is a great time to search and buy a home. Here are some reasons on why you shouldn’t put your home search on hold during the holidays.

1. LESS COMPETITION: I find that the most serious homebuyers are the ones that search during the holiday season. During the seasons, a lot of purchasers, who were looking or interested in looking for homes take a break during the holidays, making it less competitive for the serious buyers to gain the attention of the seller.
2. SELLERS ARE VERY MOTIVATED: Especially if their home has been on the market for a while. Sellers that have their home and keep their home on the during the holiday season are serious sellers and may have more incentive to sale their home as soon as possible. This is a good time for homebuyers to take advantage and have more leverage for negotiations to get the best deal possible.
3. TAKE ADDITIONAL TAX ADVANTAGES: Buying a home right before the end of the year and before the beginning of tax season is a huge benefit to the homeowner. As some of the settlement costs paid to the lender and other fees are tax-deductible.
4. MORE TIME TO LOOK AT HOMES: Although there is less day light time to search for homes during the day, vacation time allows more time for homebuyers to look for a home during the holiday.

I do caution that homebuyer should be aware of your spending habits. It is important to be aware of your reserves (the amount of money saved) and the amount of money that a homebuyer is spending and splurging on credit cards, as this effects your debt-to-income ratio. I would also advise not to open up any new accounts during your house hunting holiday season, this too affects your credit, which ultimately will effect your ability to approve for a home loan.

On Black Friday, I took a prospective buyer home searching and I expressed how impressed I was with her determination to buy a home when she could’ve been out and about splurging on the holiday deals. She expressed how important it was for her to purchase a home so the following year she can entertain her family at her house during the holidays. Purchasing a home during the holiday season does take determination and focus, but the reward is so much greater....Welcoming the New Year in Your New Home!