Is it the Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

This was original written for my business website.

Clearly, the mindset of Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. But how does it effect us in a business sense? This is an important question, as there are clearly some industries where December is a huge part of the business (e.g. anything retail) and some industries where the Christmas season is almost a throw away (e.g. anything education). Where in that spectrum does purchasing real estate fall?

I assert that real estate buyers should NEVER be more active than in December. Because people don't generally prefer moving around Christmas time, there is a hesitancy for most people to buy in that time. Because of that, every December becomes more of a buyer's market. Many people are under the impression, whether correct or incorrect, that selling in the given calendar year will have tax benefits. This also helps buyers.

In today's marketplace there are a large number of short sales and REO/Bank Owned properties, which further cements this principle, as the banks are always benefited by taking non-liquid assets off their books, but even more so when heading into a new calendar year. There are several things that make a quick sale beneficial, but few things that incentivize sellers to hold on to the property into the new year. Even those sellers not handcuffed by bank reaction feel most benevolent during the Christmas season.

With this in mind, every buyer should go crazy. Knowing that competition (i.e. other buyers) will increase as soon as Christmas passes. Knowing that people will be less inclined to sell when the new year hits. Knowing that the general feeling of benevolence and the outside pinch for money (gift buying) will only work in your favor for a limited time. Every potential buying dollar should be put forth to buy as many properties as possible during the month of December.

Because everyone's tax situation is different, it can not be stated that it is always a good tax move to purchase a home, but if you are going to purchase an investment of any sort, it is almost universally better to purchase a year in advance. The only situations where it would behoove the investor to wait to make a purchase until the next calendar year would be where something else has happened in the forthcoming year, which can't be known before the year begins. Therefore, it is almost always better for you to purchase something in the preceding calendar year.

All these things dictate that now is the time to be buying. If you ever want to purchase real estate, now is the time. So, anyone need help?