Ask Candy:Crazy to List Home During the Holidays?
A reader writes:
“Enjoy reading your posts on D and would really appreciate your input.We are contemplating selling our house but have questions about the timing in this unique market given the extension of the housing credit. We live in the M street area of Dallas in a 1950’s updated 3-1. While the house is small at 1242 sq. ft. it is move in ready and the 3 Realtors we have interviewed have told us buyers are not in the market for fixers: they are looking for houses like mine ready to move into. Because ours is so well upgraded (new windows, granite, paint, etc.) buyers looking in our area might be willing to make due with one bath. When asked about the timing all three have said this is a good time despite the beginning of the holiday rush. They’ve also said if we wait we might miss out on buyers that are looking to claim homestead exemption by closing before Dec. 31. One Realtor told us putting it on the market in late Jan/Feb might not give first time home buyers enough time to close the deal before the April deadline. Of course I take their advice with a grain of salt knowing they are in the business of commissions. Oh and I should add that we have an 8 mo. old and a Great Dane that will have to be schlepped around the block during viewings. So it’s a complicated decision and thankfully it’s not financially urgent that we move. We just need a little more elbow room and have our eye on a fixer just a few blocks away. The possibilities are giving me a headache. So what to do? I would appreciate an independent and honest expert to weigh in on this before we jump into the madness of listing a house in this market. Should we wait until Jan or spice up the eggnog a tad more and just go for it now?”
I’ve got a question for your Realtors: how can a buyer close by Dec. 31 to get the homestead exemption for 2009 yet NOT make the April 1 deadline if you list after the holidays? Are they saying 30 days is enough in December 2009 (including HVCC Appraisal Hell) but 60 days won’t cut it next year? Doesn’t make sense to me.
Here’s the deal: few people shop for homes during the holidays. I mean, who has time to breathe during the holidays? There are, however, relocators who have to move and a handful of those will try to do so during the holidays. God bless them.
Honestly, I think your agents are nutty desperate. Here’s what I’d do: pick an agent, tell them they can sell your home as a hip pocket during the holidays if Perfect Buyer sweeps into town, then list it January 5 or 12. Plenty of time.
About that bathroom: buyers in your part of town should be well aware that they cannot get multiple bathrooms in charming M Street bungalows. Is there a place where a second bath could be added? A closet that backs up to plumbing, an exterior wall? I’d get plans from an architect or builder and show buyers what they COULD do if they want that extra bath, and price your house accordingly. Most buyers prefer turn-key and want the house move-in ready so all they have to do is unpack their toothbrush. I suspect most looking in your area are dual wage earners, and those folks simply do not have time to mess with remodeling. Others, like me, prefer make their own decisions, select their own materials.
As for your precious dog, I hate the fact that homeowners feel compelled to “crate” their dogs for showings, so bless you for taking him and the baby on a walk. (We fostered a Great Dane once, you just don’t crate them!) Take her/him over to check out the fixer-upper during showings. But yes, doing that during the holiday season would just quadruple your stress level and I don’t think there’s any urgency. Relax, drink lots of spicy eggnog, enjoy the holidays, list after!
Questions about real estate, buying or selling your home? Write to Ask Candy, candye@dmagazine.com
10 Comments to “Ask Candy:Crazy to List Home During the Holidays?”
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Why is it that as soon as a couple has a baby they think they must move? Do babies really take up that much room? And they don’t even use the one bathroom. My free advice would be to STAY PUT until the market turns which could be five years or more. Your kid will be about ready for first grade and then move closer to a school of your choice where he or she could hopefully walk to school. Of course if you have more babies go to Plan B and start searching for a larger home.
You took the words right out of my mouth. How does a realtor expect to list and close in 30 days so they can get their homestead exemption, but NOT close by April if it’s listed in January? I guarantee you if it’s a first time home buyer, they’ll probably want an FHA loan and NO WAY will they close in 30 days. We can’t even get lenders to close a conventional refinance on time, let alone in 30 days. It’s just not possible in this economy. Lender’s are just asking for too much information that hold up the process.
We just put an almost identical home under contract yesterday in the M.Streets. Perfectly cute updated,pre-inspected. Lots of showing and at 24days-multiple contracts competing. I will say Buyers in this market do want to see all that is available before making a decision. It is a hassle to have a home on the market during any time of the year but if you keep it clean and available for showings-a Buyer can show up at any time. If Buyers have done all their work with the Lenders BEFORE finding a home-it will speed up the process by having the correct paperwork in place. Good Lenders are the key. There is no perfect time to list a property-if your M-street house is truly market ready and prices correctly-it should sell within 45days. BTW-I am a Realtor with a3yr old child, I live in a 1350 sqft M-Street home and don’t plan on moving anytime soon. Our family loves it and plans on supporting our great Stonewall Jackson school!
I predict the property values around there are going to go up because of the schools – they will become better known in the next few years as IB Diploma Programme is just around the corner. Even some of the schools in the area which did not have that much support in the past have had incredible turnarounds and earned many honors. I own property in the area and there’s no way I would sell now. When the market recovers this will all snowball.
I’m a Realtor and it is very slow from Thanksgiving to Christmas, but have that house on MLS on January 1 for sure. There are always lots of lookers the first few days of the new year. I’m always surprised (although I guess I shouldn’t be) by the number of calls I get in the first 48 hours of the year.
Also, there is no need for buyers to rush to close by 12/31 to claim the homestead exemption if there is one in place already. The homestead exemption stays with the home if the exemption is in place on 1/1. No matter when you sell during the year, the exemption just transfers to the new owner so, assuming you have an exemption on the house for 2009, which you will renew for 2010, it should make no difference to the buyer. Whenever we’ve bought a home mid-year with an exemption in place it has transferred to us. It is just a matter of filing your new information with DCAD before the deadline for the year following the home purchase.
A.B. raises a good point regarding Homestead exemptions, however, it should be noted that if your seller (by chance, of course, because it does happen) purchases a home before January 1, they could move their homestead exemption to their new property, leaving the new buyer (if they purchased after 1/1) with no exemption. Ouch! Just something to be on the look-out for.
Candy, thanks for posting my question!! Great advice from the posts. I think we’ll wait till after Christmas to list our house. Actually we are looking to stay in our beloved neighborhood. I can’t imagine moving out of the M-Streets and look forward to my son attending Stonewall. The reason why we are even considering selling is the low interest rates right now and our great credit “should” qualify us to get great rates on a slightly bigger home in our neighborhood. I’m an advocate small homes or “cottages” as someone here put it. But yes, we do plan to add to our family in a couple of years. By then who knows what the situation will be for buyers. So no, we’re not abandoning Lakewood/MStreets thankfully!
As a Realtor I’m answering this question quite a bit. Here are my thoughts on the “when to list” debate:
The spring market is known as the hot time to list and sell. The biggest positive is that more buyers are out trying to buy. The negative… the inventory is generally larger giving more choices to buyers. So, more buyers AND more listings, generally speaking. During the fall and winter, as the blog points out, people are busy, stressed and distracted. However, the inventory is generally lighter with fewer quality listings. Fewer listings, fewer buyers. The big positive for fall and winter listings is that if someone is out looking for a home, they are very likely to be a serious buyer that NEEDS to make a move. That’s good. It only takes one!
Candy’s strategy of the hip pocket is a good one and probably your best option given your particular variables (no situation is the same).
So…The market is craving quality listings. Don’t try to time the market. If you have a quality home that’s in show condition, get it out there!
Cool Blog! Want to exchange links. I like your articles.