Ok, here's a quick quiz for you:
What happens to the real estate market in December?
a) Most people who were thinking of selling say, "eh, wait until after the New Year"
b) A bunch of people already listed say, "holy moly, we gotta sell!"
c) A bunch of smart buyers say, "Let's go find the people in choice b) !"
d) Most Realtors lock up their offices and start holiday shopping
The answer? ALL OF THE ABOVE! That's right, depending on a personal circumstances, many conflicting things can all be happening at the same time. It's sort of like a room full of people with a bunch of different ideas on how to make the party better, some want to leave, some want to stay, and some who don't even know they're at a party at all.
Let's look at each one. a): Lots of people are on vacation and out of town, true. But lots of people from up north are out of town, and on vacation, here. It's not terribly unusual for folks--especially older ones, coming down here to visit their kids or grandkids, and either retired or getting close to it, come down, and get hip to the idea that wearing t-shirts and shorts out on the back patio in December is pretty nice. So they combine a holiday visit with a real estate search. Seen it happen.
Now, for b): These are people who had some very specific plans: put the house up for sale in the beginning of summer, because, honey, that's when all the buyers are out. Move over the Christmas break and be in the new house in time to put up the tree/menorah/whatever. But, it didn't sell over the summer, and now, they are six months in. They've reduced the price, or they're listing just expired, and they are more or less ripe for the picking. They are more flexible on price than they were in July.
c): People who wanted to move before the holidays, looking for deals, want to find the people above, and get the deal they can brag about at happy hour.
d): The Realtors who treat every day in December up to the 25th like a regular work day are the ones who will be serving the b) and c) people (and all their clients). Those Realtors, yours truly included, will also be trying to get the attention of the a) people, to tell them all about snowbirds who are flying down here with their checkbooks in hand.
All this said, it's still a sellers' market in most residential, single family home markets. I've been working with buyers in the Hammocks and Country Walk area, and the pickings are slim indeed. It's the paralysis many people get because they don't know the market, and the Realtor they are used to talking to isn't answering the phone.
Moral of the story- make sure your Realtor isn't one of the choice d) kind.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS to everyone! :)
