6 Reasons To Buy A Home During The Holidays

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The Holidays can be a thrilling time of year!

Houses get decorated with lights, people gather for parties and feasts, and winter activities are in full swing.

With the weather getting colder outside and wallets thinning from gift-giving, many people shy away from purchasing a new home during this season.

However, could it be in your favor? Check out these 6 reasons to buy a home during the holidays that could benefit you during your home buying journey.

6 Benefits of Buying a Home During the Holidays

Before you write off buying a home during the holiday season, it's a good idea to take these benefits into consideration that could help you score a great deal and save thousands.

1. Higher Negotiating Power

During the winter season, a large majority of people are busy traveling or spending time with family, so there are significantly less people searching for their next home during this period. With fewer buyers in the market, competition amongst buyers tends to be lower. In addition with the year ending, more sellers are anxious to close and get rid of their home as the days dwindle down. As a result, buyers shopping during this period tend to have higher negotiating power.

If you’ve ever purchased a home during a hot season, then you may know the frustration of losing a house to another offer or working with sellers who won’t budge on price or any improvements. With less competition, sellers are more likely to accept your offer and agree to changes. If you considering purchasing a home during this season, you could end up saving thousands with a lower price and getting all of the improvements that you asked for on the seller's dime.

2. Tax Benefits

If you close on a home before the end of the year, then you could receive some benefits on your upcoming taxes. For example, you may be able to deduct a portion of your mortgage expenses, property taxes and possibly even moving costs if you are relocating for work.

With moving being costly, it would be nice to reap those benefits sooner rather than a year later.

Closing before year-end could also allow you to receive a homestead exemption. A Homestead Exemption is a tax exemption offered by some states to help offset the burden of property taxes. Considering you meet the qualification requirements, a homestead exemption can save you hundreds of dollars a year on your property taxes.

3. Lower Interest Rates

Interest rates and loans go through cycles during the year, but they tend to be especially low around the holiday season. During the holidays, less people are typically looking to borrow, so mortgage rates tend to be lower to encourage consumers to take out more loans.

2020 has already seen some of the lowest mortgage interest rates in history, so it might be a good idea to lock in a rate before they eventually shoot back up.

If you’re considering buying a home during the holidays, you should contact your local bank or mortgage lender to ask about their rates and keep an eye out on current trends. This way you’ll be able to score a mortgage at a reasonably low rate and save thousands throughout the life of your loan!

A mortgage lender will not only be able to give you insight into the current market rates, but will also give you a better idea of what to expect during the home buying process and an estimate of how much can get approved to purchase.

4. Faster Closings

As a general rule in business, everyone wants to close transactions before the year ends.

For many buyers, they want to be in their new home as soon as possible, so they can potentially celebrate the holidays there or start the new year off in their new place. For sellers, most don’t want to be bothered with more showings and open houses throughout the holidays and into the new year – especially if they have been on the market for a while.

Also, lenders will want to include your new loan on the current year’s books, and agents will want to be done before the new year rolls around. Therefore with most or all parties being motivated to finish, the closing process should go rather smoothly and fast.

Not only are the holidays a good time to buy a home, but they are also a good time to hit up seasonal sales and promotions.

If you're buying new construction, it is likely that home builders are offering special incentives to get their remaining homes sold before the end of the year. Whether this be a reduction in the sales price, cash towards closing costs or extra money towards upgrades, you could end up with thousands of dollars more when you close.

In addition to these promotions, you can also score deals on items needed in your new home.

If you’re moving to a larger place that you need to furnish or are in need of updated appliances, this is the perfect time to take advantage of the deals on the market. The holiday season is the most popular time for sales, so you’ll get great deals on items for your new home.

6. SimpleShowing $5,000 Closing Credit

Although this credit happens all year long, we believe it’s the best benefit to buying a home during the holidays…or any other season.

When you purchase any home with a SimpleShowing agent, you’ll receive up to 1.5% of your purchase price towards your closing costs — $5,000 on average. It’s the biggest credit around and can certainly help offset the upfront expenses needed to purchase your new place.

To qualify for the credit, you can sign up and book a showing of any home on our website. We'll connect you with a local SimpleShowing Agent, and you'll receive thousands at closing! Happy Holidays!