While you may be thinking of listing your home after the first of the year or even in the spring, the holiday season can also be a great time to sell. After a year like 2021, many Long Island home sellers are taking advantage of unprecedented buyer demand to secure a great offer for their home now.
However, selling your home over the holidays may or may not be the right move for you. To help you decide, read on to see some of the pros and cons of listing your Long Island home during the final weeks of the year.
Pro: Buyers Are Highly Motivated
Most buyers who are still out looking at homes on Long Island during the holidays are serious about finding and securing a home. Whether it’s because they’ve recently relocated for a job or they’re tired of losing out in multiple offer situations, holiday season buyers are ready to get into escrow and close as soon as possible.
Pro: Lower Inventory Allows Your Home to Shine
Many Long Island home sellers pull their homes off the market over the holidays or wait until the New Year to list. That means your home will have less competition from other similar properties on the market. Listing now may provide an opportunity for a more unique home to shine.
Pro: A Fast Close May Be Possible
People tend to have more flexibility in their schedules during this time of year, making it easier for buyers to schedule a showing or attend an inspection. Similarly, vendors may have more room in their schedules to take on another client. It’s entirely possible to close quickly during the holiday season!
Pro: Home Prices Are Still Up
Finally, home prices are still up across Long Island. Nationwide, home prices rose about 18% over the last year. In certain pockets of Long Island, we’re actually seeing home prices up about [X] from last year at this time – outpacing the national average! Sell your home now, and you could get a great offer for your property. Perhaps for more than you thought possible!
Curious about your current home value? Request your free estimate from us here or contact us for a customized valuation.
Con: Less Buyers Looking May Mean Less Offers
Now that we’ve looked at the pros of listing your home during the holidays, it’s time to discuss the negatives.
At the top of the list is the fact that while holiday home buyers are super motivated, there’s a lot less of them overall. While you may receive a great offer for your Long Island property, you may not be caught in the multiple offer situation many sellers have navigated over the past few years. That may not be a huge deal to you, but if it is, you may want to wait to list until more buyers head out shopping again.
Con: The Holidays Can Be Busy
No matter who you are, the holiday season is often busier than other times of the year. Between work parties, kid events, and family celebrations, it’s easy to feel overscheduled and stressed. Putting your Long Island home on the market right now may feel like too much. Even with an experienced team to guide you, you’ll still need to make your home available for showings and inspections. Not to mention making time to consider offers, requests from the buyers, and packing to move!
Con: You’ll Likely Need to Scale Back Your Holiday Celebrations – Including Decor
As we mentioned above, the holiday season often brings a flurry of seasonal events and parties. Yet if you have your home on the market, you’ll likely have to scale back your celebrations to make your home both available and show-ready. You’ll also need to keep the holiday decor to a minimum to help buyers see what your home has to offer and picture themselves living there. Foregoing the usual holiday festivities and twinkle lights may be a dealbreaker to some.
Con: Holiday Closures Can Create Scheduling Difficulties
Finally, while flexible schedules can make a quick close possible, it can also be challenging to make it all come together. Many people travel or take extra time off over the holidays. It can sometimes be hard to find and schedule appointments that work for all parties involved while still meeting your contracted deadlines.
Now that you know some of the positives and the pitfalls of listing your Long Island home during the holidays, you may have made a decision about when you’d like to list. The next step is to hire an experienced Long Island real estate team to represent you.
We have the experience and the proven results to help you get your home sold now or next year! Give us a call today, and we’ll help you create a game plan to get your home sold on your timeline. We look forward to hearing from you. Happy holidays from all of us at the Pesce & Lanzillotta Team!
The Pesce & Lanzillotta Team, at BHHS Laffey International Realty
Office: 516-888-9711
Email: info@pl-team.com
