Key Takeaways
Weighing the Pros and Cons – Selling a house during the holidays in Southern California has both advantages and drawbacks. While there’s not as much competition and motivated buyers, things generally move slower, and key dates can cause delays. Homeowners should assess their circumstances to determine if listing during this time is the right choice.
Timing Things to Fit Your Needs – The decision to list a home depends on factors like readiness, personal commitments, and urgency to sell. While some homes may benefit from low inventory, others may be better positioned during other times of year. Ultimately, sellers should prioritize what works best for their situation and move forward with confidence.
Imagine if you will – you have a home you want to sell but the holidays is fast approaching and you are not sure what to do. Your home is in Long Beach, California, near Los Angeles and Orange County so you know the weather is not an issue but are not sure if it will affect your sale. Does it make a difference? What should you do? Should you try selling your home during this time, or should you wait? I’ll explain.
Is It Better to List Your Home During the Holiday Season or Hold Off?
As with many good questions, it depends. There is not one right or wrong answer. You need to understand what we mean when we say “Holiday Season” when referring to the Southern California real estate market. You also need to consider the pros and cons of listing a home to make an informed decision that works best for your situation. Let’s look a little closer.
What Is Considered the Holliday Season for Southern California Real Estate?
Our weather does not change much in Los Angeles and Orange County, but we do have a holiday season. People take time off, spend time with family and friends, go to parties, travel, shop, and do everything else that goes with the season.
All these activities distract people’s attention from real estate causing a generally slow time of year that goes from Thanksgiving week until after the New Year. This slow time will often drift beyond Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which in case you did not know is the third Monday of January. Sometimes things do not pick up until after the Super Bowl in early February.
Let’s look at the pros and cons of listing your home during this time.
Here Are Four Reasons to List Your Home for Sale During the Holidays
- Less competition – There are fewer homes for sale during this time to compete with yours. Sellers benefit when there is less to choose from potentially making it easier to rise to the top of prospective buyers’ list.
- Serious potential buyers – Buyers who are home shopping during this time tend to be more serious. They may be moving to Los Angeles and Orange County for a new job or have tax reasons. You might get fewer showings but the people looking are more likely to buy.
- Potential buyers have time off – The holidays are when many people take time off work so they can look at properties. It may also be more convenient for people shopping as a couple since they may have time off where they can shop together.
- Holiday cheer – People are generally happier this time of year. Homes may be beautifully holiday decor and entire neighborhoods can look more festive and inviting. This relaxed atmosphere may be what it takes to get that reluctant buyer to pull the trigger.
Here are Four Reasons to Hold Off on Listing Through the Holidays
- Slow time of year – There is no way around it, the real estate market is slower during the holidays. It works well for some sellers. However, you need to accept there will likely be fewer showings and fewer things sold.
- Multiple days nothing can happen – There will always be gaps of time when nothing can happen. Showings don’t happen on Christmas or New Year and are pretty unlikely on the Eves of both of those holidays as well as the day or two immediately after, but “days on the market” still accumulate making homes appear like they have been there a while. If you are in escrow; escrow offices, the county recorder, title companies, and lenders have extra days they are closed.
- Time to prepare your home - Many sellers make good use of their time off from work during the holidays to prepare. You don’t need to be around while your home is on the market, it may be better if you are gone. However, if you are home, it may be the perfect time to take care of all the little things around the house to prepare for placement on the market after the holidays.
- Family time for the holidays – Some sellers may decide to focus on family and enjoy their home. They don’t want to deal with the hassle of having a home on the market. Most people would rather relax around the house in California and not worry if it is presentable for showings. They would rather deal with selling after the new year.
Should You Put Your Home Up for Sale During the Holidays?
After taking in the pros and cons of putting your home on the market during the holidays you need to be honest with yourself as to what fits best for your situation. Look at it on a case-by-case basis.
For example, if you have a vacant home that is ready to go the first week of December, you might as well put it on the market to take advantage of the low inventory. If your home is not ready to go on until Christmas Eve then it would be better to wait until sometime in January.
If you are living in a home and have family coming into town, you probably don’t want to have an open house while you have family gatherings. Unless you have a pressing reason to sell right away you are better off waiting until after the holidays. That way you will have time to properly prepare your home and still enjoy one last season in your home.
If your situation is somewhere in the middle, you just need to balance everything out to see what works best for you. Most holidays are slow but some have been strong. The weather is great and properties sell all year long here in southern California. It's really hard to predict the market, so we recommend timing your sale around your situation. Make a decision that fits you best and don’t look back.
Bottom Line
In the Los Angeles and Orange County areas, we don’t have typical seasons. However, we do have holidays that you need to consider when deciding to put your home on the market. When facing this decision, you need to consider the pros and the cons.
Fewer competitors, those looking for a future home to own, buyers with time off work, and festive cheer are reasons you may want to list during the holidays. A slow time of year, multiple days nothing can happen, time to prepare for the home selling process and the preference for family time are reasons you may decide to hold off until after the New Year.
Take all this into consideration when deciding whether to list your home during the holidays or not. We have great weather and a real estate market where homes sell all year long. Make your best decision and don’t look back.
For Real Estate Advice
If you are looking for a real estate broker to guide you through the sales process or a reliable property management company to help you handle a rental in Long Beach, Los Angeles, or Orange County, California; or you are just considering it and have a few questions about real estate contact the Mike Dunfee Group today! Our team of top real estate agents are happy to help.
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