Should You Put Your Home on the Market on Seattle’s Eastside During the Holidays?

Yes, yes, yes!

You should put your Eastside-King County house on the market now and I'll tell you why:

First, here are the "market" reasons:

We have one of the lowest number of homes for sale and the highest number of sales in the last 15 years!

In October, the last month in which we have statistics, there were 1,821 homes for sale, which was 45% less than October, 2011!  There were 67% fewer homes for sale than in 2008!

October had the most Eastside pending sales (1,202) of any October in the last 15 years!   The average number of October sales for the has been 867 home sales, which means this October was 39% higher than the 15 year average!

With these high sales numbers, buyer demand is unusually strong for this time of year.

Emotional/personal reasons:

There are a lot of buyers out there who are jumping on homes to buy the minute they hit the market.  We know because that just happened for one of our sellers.  The home was gone in a matter of hours.

Because most people don't think it's a good time to put your home on the market, it's exactly the right time to do it.  Most sellers will wait until after the first of the year, but there's less competition during the holidays. 

Buyers are worried they won't find a good home if they wait too long. Buyers are out there and making offers to buy homes.

Homes are warm and inviting during the holidays.  This is the time of year when people feel like "nesting" at home.  A cozy home only supports the feeling.  The holidays bring rise to all kinds of homey feelings.

Many homes can actually show better during the holidays.  Homes are nicely decorated, making the home feel more warm, colorful, and personal.  

If you're planning to sell your home in the next 6 months, rethink your plan and consider going on the market during the holidays.  Happy Holidays!  (And it that doesn't work, then get on the market early in the year!)