Have you thought about purchasing a home this time of year, but you are hesitant because holidays can stress you out, and you feel like you have no time. I am here to tell you, YES you can purchase during the holiday season, and I am going to give you some time on how to make it pain free! Sometimes sellers try to avoid selling their home during this time of year, because the days seem shorter, the wintery weather, and wisdom that the buyer will avoid purchasing! Buying year end can be much of an advantage to a buyer because the seller is often selling the home for a reason or for urgency! The downside of purchasing a home during the cold season is there is a shortage of homes for sell, so you cannot be very picky if you want to get into your home before the New Year! One of the things you can do is have your Real Estate Agent pulled the “expired listings” in your preferred area code, they might not currently be on the market, but you can always reach out to the owner and see if they are still willing to make a deal with you. Another thing you can do is have your agent reach out to people in the neighborhood you would like to live in and see if they can get someone to crack on selling. Hey who knows they might have thought about selling but wanted to wait till the New Year! Last but not least, you can have your agent call around local brokerages and see if there are any “coming soon” homes in the area you would like to live! On the UP side of purchasing in the winter, you will so to speak have less competition on the home you love. You will be able to negotiate prices and moving costs with your seller without having someone coming along to put in a better deal than you! Picking a home this time of year can be a slower process, not only because sellers and buyers are in and out of town for the holidays, so is your Real Estate Agent. Finding a agent who has the same holiday schedule as you will be a must in this process. One of the biggest up sides to purchasing a new home during the holidays, is having that new home to show off too all your friends and family. Also as the buyer you cannot be shy when it comes to going to see homes during the holidays, if a seller was not serious about selling their home, it would not be on the market when they know purchasers will be coming by at all hours of the day to see the home! There are a lot of pros and cons of moving through the Holiday season, more pros for the buyer! You have to be open minded and know there is not going to be a lot of inventory but if you let go off all your expectations you would be surprised how nice of homes you can find this season! Happy Reading!