Are you are SMART Home Buyer?
In response to this answer most home buyers would say immediately yes! They have searched the internet on Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com or their local agents website and have seen all the properties. Additionally, they may have even looked at past sales for homes in the area of interest and even driven the neighborhood. All this being said a home buyer is usually missing one crucial piece to the puzzle and that is timing.
My case in point is the current holiday season. While Thanksgiving is upon us and with Christmas, Hanukkah and New Years right around the corner, a home buyer can get out of the real estate mind set. They tell their agent they are going to take a break since things slow down in real estate during November and December (false!). It is here where they are making a crucial mistake. During these months it can be one of the most advantageous times for a home buyer and here is why.
First, rather than following the crowd and taking time off, you can be the first one to see that new property which just hit the market or just had a significant price reduction. How many times have you heard about multiple offer situations or even that the home was on the market for only a day before going under contract. While others are distracted you can take advantage of the situation.
Second, sellers for the most part are probably getting frustrated. They may be seeing less traffic coming through to view their properties, or concerned that they need to sell the home before the new year when their relocation takes affect. Plus you may come across a seller that is feeling in a good holiday mood from that extra bonus at work and may be willing to take that under market offer just to be done with it all.
Third, there are plenty of real estate agents that are probably seeing a slow down as well and are eager to go the extra mile during the holiday season to get that final sale closed before the end of the year. Additionally, the smart agents are building their client lists for next year and while the sale may not close in December they want to hit the ground running in January and February.
So if you have gone through the smart home buyer checklist and missed timing, I encourage you to reassess and take the holiday time as real estate time.