A Multi-Family Home

Why The Holidays Are A Great Time To Buy A House

by Arnold Gomez

The holiday season isn't often associated with house hunting, but savvy house buyers can use that fact to their advantage. If you are looking for a house to call your own, here's why you might want to head out there now instead of waiting until after the New Year.

Sellers Motivated to Relocate to Be Closer to Family

The holiday season is a time of year for reconnecting with loved ones, and chances are good that a seller looking to move to another part of the country to reunite with their family will want to cut a deal so that they can move on before Christmas arrives. If you run into a seller like this who is sensitive about the time remaining in the holiday season, you can use it to your advantage by making a lower counter than you normally would. You might just get lucky and get a great deal on a house, all because the seller just wants to move and get to their new home for Christmas.

Seller Cuts a Deal Because of Less Competition

Because the holidays are such a slow season for the real estate market, your interest in someone's home might be the first time they've heard from somebody in a while. If a seller is starting to feel like the house is just sitting on the market without much interest, they might be willing to sweeten the pot in order to get you to close with them. Contrast this with the summer when the seller of a nice house knows there will likely be another buyer around the corner if the current deal falls through. This time of year can encourage the seller to come to the negotiating table and make the transaction worth your while.

Seller Has Tax Concerns

December is the last month of the year, and it's the last month where a major real estate transaction can show up on next April's tax return. Some sellers with specific tax concerns might want to close the deal now instead of waiting until January because it will be easier to put the entire transaction behind them when they file their next tax return for the current year. 

The holiday season is not known for being a hotbed of real estate activity, but you can use this fact to your advantage if you are a smart buyer. This is the time of year when house sellers are more inclined to cut deals for a variety of different reasons. Talk to a local real estate agent today to get started.

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