As I discussed in the video above, the good news, or at least the glass half full perspective, when it comes to selling a home during the Holidays or the early winter months is that in the last 10 years in the City of Falls Church the number of closed sales during any given month has never been zero. Now, we have been close a few times, including this past February when there were only 3 closings.

This means that, with the right preparations to get the home on the market, and the right marketing plan once you’re there, you can dramatically increase your chances of being one of the Holiday homes that a buyer will choose. There is always a market for the well prepared, appropriately priced (notice I didn’t say discounted), well marketed home.

There are actually some that will suggest that the Holiday market can even have a silver lining for home sellers. The Holidays is when you can see people who are relocating to the area make their visits and purchase decisions. Combine normal preparations, with thoughtful Holiday decor and the smells of the season and you can really entice those and other buyers. In the end, I think this is all true, but is really more a silver lining than a motive to actually target the Holiday market for your sale.

That said, I personally have a handful of buying clients who where not able to find or obtain their home of choice during the summer and early fall months. They are sitting now ready to jump on anything good that comes along. I assume I am not the only agent out there in this position, so here in 2016 the Holiday market could prove more fruitful than other years because of the lingering demand from previous seasons.

This fact is also a good sign to homes that are on the market but are not selling that it may be time to take another look at your asking price. If buyers are sitting on the sidelines waiting for new inventory it is a sign the existing inventory may not be priced in alignment with expectations.